Thunder
by Ariel Carter and Eridani
Summary: After eight years of hidden emotions and 'keeping it in the room', a force of nature creates a storm Jack and Sam weren't quite prepared for. But once the gray skies clear, can their newfound love survive in the light of day?
1. Thunder ch 1 Clashing Personalities

**Authors: Ariel Carter-O'Neill and EridaniMoon**

**Rating: Teen to Mature**

**Season: Alternate Future, Seasons 8-9+**

**Email: in our authors bio!**

**_Ariel's note:_**** This story took us a long time to write, and I hope you'll enjoy it. Eridani, thanks for all your support and your imagination, this story couldn't have been possible without you. Please review!**

**_Eridani's note:_**** This story came about after a rather unusual conversation with Ariel and has taken us over a year to write. Although I helped to write it, this is Ariel's baby… I just climbed on board for the ride! She's worked very hard on it, so please be kind and give her some great reviews!**

**Thunder**

**Chapter 1: Clashing Personalities**

The sky was dark and full of electricity and Lt. Col. Samantha Carter was very exhausted. The last few months had been exhausting; both physically and emotionally, and all she wanted was to get a good nights' sleep in her own bed for once… And maybe grab a comforting hot bubble bath. She was finally leaving Cheyenne Mountain after what seemed like a year underground, when the first thunderclap went off and she couldn't prevent the shiver that ran down her spine or the fear that filled her eyes.

Her friend, Daniel Jackson, noticed right away that there was something wrong. Concern filled his blue eyes as he stepped closer, questioning, "Sam? Are you okay?"

Uncomfortable with the sudden attention, Sam offered him a weak smile, replying, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Just then a bigger thunderclap went off, causing her to freeze again, belying her own words. Her head dropped forward in embarrassment... _After all, how did it look for an Air Force officer to practically leap out of her skin over a little bit of thunder?_

The unusual fear that he saw in his companions eyes caused Daniel's stomach to draw into a knot, and placing a hand on her shoulder, he softly asked, "What's wrong, Sam?"

Turning away so that he couldn't see the tears springing into her eyes, Sam shook her head, muttering, "Nothing, Daniel, really... I'm fine; just a bit tired."

Resignation filled him at her words, but Daniel had been friends with the beautiful blonde for too long to think he was going to get an honest answer. Brushing a brotherly kiss over her forehead, he whispered, "All right, if you say so. But, call me if you need someone to talk to."

Nodding, Sam went to her car and drove home; knowing she could never call him. On her way, the thunderclaps became louder and more frequent, causing her to cringe and her hands to shake as she navigated the rainy streets. Finally arriving home, she quickly ran to her house, slipping inside to escape the cold rain. She checked the answering machine to see if Pete had called, a sinking feeling filling her as she heard only the typical telemarketing calls. _You'd think that with all of the technology we've brought back from other planets, that I would be able to find one to stop the damn 'buy this, buy that; you've won a vacation!' calls._

Sighing she turned her attention back to the machine and the lack of contact with her lover… _If you could call someone you never saw your lover…_ She'd called him a few times in the last two months, but he'd never called her back or even taken the time to come see her and God knew she hadn't had the time to go to Denver. She was feeling sad and insulted about it and knew that something had to change. She was reaching for the phone to call him again when the phone rang.

"Well, it's about time!" Sam's tone came out sharper than she'd intended, causing her to cringe as she waited for the caller to speak.

Silence filled the line for several seconds before the confused voice replied; "I'm sorry, Carter, you were expecting my call?"

She felt her face flush red as she realized that her caller wasn't Pete, but her CO, General Jack O'Neill. Nervously clearing her throat, she stammered, "Oh! Oh... So, sorry, sir, I thought it was someone else."

Silence filled the line again and then he softly questioned, "Pete?"

Guilt filled her for some unknown reason and after swallowing painfully, she replied, "Yes."

"Oh! Well, I guess I should hang up then." The General's tone indicated it was the last thing he wanted.

"NO! I mean… no." _God help her, she'd just yelled at her boss._ "You don't have to yet, sir, I don't even know why you're calling."

"Oh!" Embarrassment clouded O'Neill's voice, as he murmured, "It was because…

There was a long pause as he cleared his throat and closing her eyes, she prompted, "Yes?"

Tense silence filled the line before he quietly offered, "Because Daniel told me what happened in the parking lot and I wanted to know if you were okay."

The words came across the line in a rush and after several seconds she finally realized what he'd said. Embarrassment colored her face as she replied, "Sure, I'm fine!"

A teasing quality entered the general's voice as he offered, "I didn't know you were afraid of storms, Carter."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, sir." _Especially how much I..._ Shaking her head and cutting off that avenue of thought, she declared, "And I'm not afraid of storms. I just don't like them."

The teasing tone disappeared, replaced by true concern as he asked, "Why?"

Sam sighed, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut. "Because when I was a kid, a storm once destroyed the tree in front of our house and it fell on the roof right above my bedroom. It was the middle of the night and I almost died before Dad managed to get me out... Since then, I haven't cared for storms, but I try very hard not to show it."

Lifting the phone away from his ear, Jack stared at the phone in disbelief before returning it and stating, "I see."

General O'Neill didn't sound convinced and rolling her eyes, Sam said, "But I can assure you that I'm okay, sir."

"Good, that's good Carter." Silence filled the line once again, stretching between them for several seconds before he suggested; "I'd better let you go, in case... Ummm, what's-his-name tries to call."

"Pete, General." Gripping the phone tighter in her hand, Sam reiterated; "His name is Pete Shanahan."

The general's sigh was deep as he softly replied, "I know that Colonel, I just choose to forget it... Good night Carter."

"NO!" _Oh, hell, she'd yelled at him again. This was turning out to be a wonderful evening..._

There was another long pause before he questioned, "Yes, Carter? Is there anything you want to add?"

Her hand shook as she took a deep breath, demanding, "I want to know why you choose to forget the name of my boyfriend."

More silence filled the line before he in turn demanded, "So, he's officially your boyfriend now?"

"Yes, and don't try to change subject!" _How dare he act like she'd done something wrong!_

"Me?" His tone was incredulous as he defended, "Never!"

The nerve of the man! "Answer the question then!"

She could see him grinning in her mind as he slowly drawled, "About what?"

Fighting back the growl that rose in her throat, she damned herself to hell duty on base as she yelled, "Sir!"

"Okay, okay!" His heavy sigh floated to her, the sound full of remorse as he quietly said, "I've chosen to forget his name because I don't think he's the right man for you."

Sam was completely shocked, standing open-mouthed in the middle of her living room as she replayed his words in her mind. Of all the things he could have said, she'd never thought he would say those to her. Her body vibrated with anger, and kissing her career goodbye, she hissed, "Who in the **_hell_**do you think you are to tell me that?"

Jack felt the question slam into him like a bulldozer, making him wonder why the hell he was doing this to himself. His words were so soft that she barely heard them as he answered, "Someone who cares about you a lot more than he's supposed to and who doesn't want you to be unhappy."

_Oh, hell…_ _Did I say that?_ Jack reeled backwards, staggering against the wall before sliding down to sit on the cold tile floor of his kitchen.

Sam felt her eyes widen, the shock reverberating through her as her mind screamed, _Whoa! I can'__t believe he said that!_ Clearing her throat, she quietly asked, "So, you think I'm wasting my time with him?"

"No." Forcing the words from his throat, Jack closed his eyes, wondering how he could make her see... "I didn't say that."

Confusion filled her, and dropping into the nearest chair she inquired, "Then what are you saying?"

"That I know you very well, Sam, better than you think." Closing his eyes, he took the leap, whispering, "I know you're not happy with this guy."

She was so shocked that she didn't even notice that he had used her first name. Playing with the throw pillow, she asked, "If you're so smart, what do you think I should do?"

_It's now or never O'Neill. _Taking a deep breath, he answered, "I think you should leave him and try to find someone else."

"Oh yeah?" _God, the man acted like it was so easy!_ "And just where do you think I'll find someone else? On another planet where my worst enemy can kill him? Or maybe at the base? After all, it's not as if there are _any_ regulations preventing a relationship between the military personnel!"

"I'm sorry." _Well, not really, but he couldn't admit that, now could he?_

"No you're not!" Sam screeched the words into the phone, gripping the arm of the chair to keep from throwing the receiver across the room. "You just want me to leave Pete because… because… I don't even know why **you** want me to leave him! I've finally met someone who loves me and he knows what I do for a living, so I don't have to lie to him all the time, and now you want me to leave him just because you say so? Even though he never returns my calls and never comes to see me? I'm sorry, **_sir_**, but I don't think that my private life is any of your business."

The silence was ominous before he hoarsely questioned, "He **_never_**calls back and _never _comes to see you Sam?"

_Uh-oh... Damn it, she hadn't meant to say that!_ "That's not the point here!"

The smirk returned to Jack's face as he held the phone away from his ear, looking at the object for a few seconds before returning it and stating, "Oh yes it is! If he never calls back and never comes, maybe it's because he doesn't know how to break off with you."

_The nerve of the man!_ Her knuckles were white from their grip on the arm of the poor chair as she replied, "No, **_sir_**, I'm sure he has a good reason."

Jack's chuckle drifted to her through the few miles separating their houses as he muttered, "That reason is probably a big, imposing, dark skinned man."

Sam felt her eyes widen as his words sank in. Shaking her head, her voice took on a begging tone as she declared, "Oh no… No, no, no! You didn't' do **_that_**!"

"Do what?" Jack asked innocently as he decided it was a good thing Carter couldn't see the happy grin on his face right now.

"You asked Teal'c to scare Pete!"_ Accusing your CO wasn't the best course of action, but neither was yelling at him and she'd already dug her grave with that one..._

Tilting his head back and staring at his ceiling, Jack realized he needed to paint it again as he asked, "Why would Teal'c do such a thing?"

"Because you asked him to and probably gave him an insane reason, so he did it, thinking he would help me." _Okay, so the excuse sounded lame even to her, but she couldn't back down, not now_.

_This was just too much fun!_ Closing his eyes as he smiled, Jack declared, "In spite of what you're thinking, I did **_not_**ask Teal'c to scare Pete."

"Then why did you say that?" _Okay... If Jac... The **General** didn't ask Teal'c to do it, then why would the Jaffa threaten... No, he wouldn't have done it on his own; Teal'c wasn't like that! But then again..._

Jack couldn't prevent the smirk on his face, even though she couldn't see it as he asked, "Say what?"

The innocent tone came over the line again; further annoying her and causing her to bark, "Don't start that again! You know what I'm talking about."

_Uh-oh, Carter was getting really pissed off now..._ "I have no idea Colonel. Anyway… How long's it been since he called or came by?"

Closing her eyes against a wave of embarrassment, Sam's voice was barely audible as she whispered, "Two months."

_Damn! And_ _Carter actually put up with that from ole Shenanigans?_ "When are you going to realize that he is **_not _**the right man for you?"

"Maybe never_."__ Okay, so she was beginning to see the light, but she wasn't about to tell Jack O'Neill that... She'd never see the end of his gloating!_

_Damn, he'd known she was stubborn, but how long was she going to beat this dead horse?_ "So why are you complaining about the fact that he never returns your calls?"

Sam's sigh filtered over the line to him. "I'm not complaining. I just feel insulted that I'm not important enough for him to return my call or come to see me... But I'm not complaining."

_Right... She won't complain about the jerk, but she'll take her frustration out on her teammates._ "Okay then, **_not _**complaining. Why are you still waiting for him?"

"Because I like him." _The man was worse than a dog with a bone... Couldn't he see the obvious?_

_Yes! Screamed Jack's subconscious. She said she **likes** him but maybe she doesn't **love** him... Well, it never hurt to ask, right?_ "Oh, you like him... You don't _love _him?"

_How the hell was she supposed to answer that? She still wasn'__t able to force herself to fully examine her relationship with the police detective and now her CO wanted the answers?_ Lost in her thoughts, she was unaware of how long she'd been silent when he prompted, "Sam?"

Taking a deep breath, she blurted, "I'mnotsureIlovehim…"

_What?_ Shaking his head, Jack requested, "I'm sorry can you repeat that slower?"

"I'm not sure I love him." Closing her eyes again, Sam rested her head in her palm, trying to remember how in the hell this particular conversation had started and failing miserably. Sighing, she explained, "He's kind and nice and cute but I'm not sure it's what I need."

_Sheesh, was she describing her lover or her cocker spaniel?_ "What do you think you need?"

"Someone strong, smart, cute, who cares for me, someone I can trust with my life, someone who knows I'm not perfect and able to deal with it, someone I want kids with…" _Wow, sounded just like the dog she'd had growing up, _Sam thought with a grimace_. Either that or... No, she couldn't think of Ja- General O'Neill that way!_

Jack felt the grin spreading across his face again. "That sounds like someone I know."

"Really? Who?" _He doesn't know, he doesn't know, he doesn't know..._

"Well… er… me?"_ Ok... How did Ms. Brilliant Astrophysicist miss that one?_ Frowning, he questioned, "Sam?"

Sam felt her heart running in her chest. _What was she supposed to say to that? Oh, gee sir, I know that describes you, but if I admit it, there goes our working relationship. Yeah, that was so going to happen..._

A shiver of fear ran down his spine at her silence, and sitting up, he yelled, "Carter!"

"Yes sir?" The words popped out of her mouth before she realized it, born of eight years of protocol and she could hear his wince over the line. "Sorry General... I... I guess it does describe you, but I... Sir, I think I need to hang up now."

"NO!" _Okay, don't panic O'Neill... You have to keep her talking._

Bewilderment filled Sam's voice as she questioned, "Sir?"

His voice was low, with a dangerous quality threading through it as he stated, "Don't hang up yet, we have to finish this conversation."

_Like that was going to happen!_ Sighing again, the days' activities leaving her exhausted, Sam softly replied, "This conversation is over, sir." _She just wanted to be alone and think about her miserable love life!_

"Carter!"

The _'I'm a General, don't mess with me'_ tone entered his voice, causing her to sit up straight, opening her mouth to respond, when another big thunderclap shook the house and she screamed. She was shaking all over and holding the phone so tightly her fingers hurt, but she couldn't release it, couldn't put it down.

Jack rose to his feet when he heard her scream, concern flooding him as he yelled, "_Sam_?" There was no answer, but he could still hear her breathing. Swallowing against the lump of fear in his throat, he asked, "Sam, are you okay?"

There was still no verbal response, but he could hear her crying softly, as though from a distance. Grabbing his truck keys, he headed for his front door, the cell phone still plastered to his ear. Sliding into the cab of the truck, he started the powerful engine as he said, "Hang on, Sam, I'm coming!"

Fifteen minutes of talking into a non-responsive cell phone later, Jack was at her place, knocking on the front door. No response. The storm had become more violent, the wind was blowing violently and the thunderclaps were big and loud. Lightning illuminated the sky as he pounded on the door; panic filling him as there was still no answer. He was wet and cold so he decided to let himself in. Looking around, he anxiously called, "Sam? Sam, where are you?"

He heard a sob coming from the living room and turning in that direction, he cautiously entered the room, catching sight of her; curled up on the couch, tears rolling down her cheeks and the phone still in her right hand. Immediately running to her, he lifted her head, wincing at the fear and anguish mirrored on her face. Brushing her hair back, he smiled and whispered, "It's going to be okay, Sam, I'm here now."

Sitting next to her on the couch, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. Watching as the sobs continued to shake her body, he thought, _She'__s totally in shock and doesn't seem to be able to stop crying... I don't think she even realizes I'm here!_ Taking the blanket that was thrown over the back of the couch, he pulled it over them both and started murmuring softly to her, comforting her.

Sam still didn't seem to know he was there, as she continued to sob, startling him as she began to mutter about her awful love life... Things he had no business hearing, not if Shenanigans wanted to remain in one piece. Jack didn't know how to act, so he kept running his hand through her hair until he felt her grow heavy and lax in his arms. Glancing down, he found that she had actually exhausted herself to the point that she had fallen asleep.

Smiling at the woman he loved, he gently shifted her into a comfortable position on the couch, covering her with the blanket. Jack wasn't sure how long he'd stood there, watching her as she slept, but he finally realized that the room was almost completely dark. Sighing, he kissed her forehead and murmured in her ear, "Sleep well, Sammie."


	2. Thunder ch 2 Resounding Admissions

**Authors: Ariel Carter-O'Neill and EridaniMoon**

**Rating: Teen to Adult**

**Email: in bio**

**_Eridani's note_****: Thanks so much for reviewing the story! I have to admit that if someone looks closely enough, they will find my sarcasm in the stories… It couldn't be helped! Hope you like this next chapter as much… More coming soon!**

**_Ariel's note:_**** Wow! Thank you for the beautiful reviews, I didn't expect to have so many beautiful comments. Here's chapter two, I hope you'll like it as much as chapter one. Eridani thank you so much once again, this couldn't be possible without you. ****J**

**Thunder 2 **

**Chapter 2: Resounding Admissions**

The next morning, when Sam woke up, she was very confused. _Why was she on the couch instead of her bed?__ Had General O'Neill actually come to her house last night or was it just another of her crazy, wishful dreams? _She remembered the storm and the General's call but that was all. Slowly, she stood up and shuffled to the bathroom for a warm, refreshing shower; silently praying it would wash the fuzziness from her head. _No such luck_, she thought as she shrugged into her robe and stumbled into the kitchen. After forcing half of a slice of toast down her throat, she ran a brush absently through her hair and frowned at the dark circles under her eyes. Sighing, she realized that there was nothing she could do about them and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for the drive to the base, determined to act as if nothing had happened the day before.

The General was behaving the same way, cracking his usual jokes and it giving her a sense of reassurance that nothing important had happened between them. She spent the major part of the day in her lab working on her experiments; at least that's what she told everyone that dropped by to see where she '_was hiding herself'_.

She tried to focus on her work, but the strange conversation she'd had with her CO the night before kept popping into her mind, distracting her to no end. After several fruitless and frustrating hours, she finally gave up on altering the output ratio of Naquadah for the new reactor prototype and slipped silently from the mountain. After a quick trip by the grocers'; she finally made it home, again checking the answering machine to see if Pete had called her back. _No messages… Not that it really surprised her. After two months, you'd think that she'd stop hoping…_ Sighing, she decided she wasn't hungry and turned towards the bedroom to prepare for the night. She'd only taken about five steps when the she had an overwhelming impulse and ran back to the living room, snatching the phone from its' cradle.

Glancing to his right as the Simpson's tune filled the air and then glaring at the stack of paperwork beside him, Jack smiled in relief, snagging the ringing object as he stated, "O'Neill."

Smiling at the happy tone in his voice, Sam replied, "Hey, sir, it's me."

Jack's smile grew broader as he leaned back in his seat, asking, "Hey, Carter, what's up?"

_Ok, it was now or never..._ _Last nights 'chat' had filled her mind all day long, and she knew that if she didn't get it off her chest, it would slowly drive her insane. The way Jack's sexy bedroom eyes did over the briefing table…_ Taking a deep breath, she blurted, "I think we should talk about what happened yesterday."

_Uh-oh... He'd always hated when a woman used any variation of 'we need to talk'_. Closing his eyes, he replied, "Ummm...Ok…what?"

_Okay Sam, you can do this_. Inhaling deeply, she slowly let it out and then offered, "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for my behaviour."

"What behaviour?" _Okay, maybe he was a little thick at times, but he had no idea what she was talking about._ Pinching the bridge of his nose, he assured, "There is nothing to apologize for Colonel… **Nothing**…"

_Damn it! Trust the man to try to make her feel better... Too bad it wasn't working._ "Yes there is. I was weak and I was feeling alone… I shouldn't have laid all that stuff on you last night."

Smiling as he heard the insecurities in her voice, Jack softly replied, "Everyone needs someone sometimes… I'm just glad you felt you could talk to me."

_God, how could he not know what he meant to her?_ Dropping into the chair she'd occupied the night before, Sam closed her eyes and whispered, "I've always felt that way."

"Good!" _Okay, things were definitely looking better!_

Taking another deep breath, she blurted, "I'd prefer no one ever knows about what happened."

_Okay, maybe not so well_. His hurt tone filled the line as he mumbled, "Like I would tell."

Smiling, Sam snorted and declared, "Yes, you would."

"Carter!"

Shock filled Jack that she could even think that he would stoop so low as to... Her voice interrupted his musings as she accused, "Sir, I know you and you would claim it just to win one of the bets that are running on us." An ominous silence filled the line, before she softly added, "Or to claim that I'm yours."

Pain and remorse that she obviously didn't know him as well as he'd thought filled him as he quietly stated, "I would never do that and I am insulted that you would think so… Good night, Carter."

"NO!" Sam's sharp denial filled the line, causing him to wince as she murmured, "Here we go again. Why do I always hurt him?"

"Carter, you're just hurting yourself, not me…" _Ok Jack... Time to play with the big boys. Open your mouth flyboy and tell her... _"It's time to wake up and see what's in front of you Sam."

Silence reigned once again as she didn't have any reply for that one and listening to the voice in his head, he decided to go for it, asking, "Sam… how do you _really _feel?"

"Tired." The word was pulled from her, her eyes tightly closed as she dodged the real question he'd thrown at her.

_So the Colonel thought she was going to get away with an easy answer?_ _Right..._ "If there were no Air Force, no regs?"

_Please Jack, don't make me do this..._ "I'm too tired to think about that."

Jack sighed again, ordering, "Then sleep and we'll talk after you've rested."

_No! He couldn't go, couldn't make her think about this and then just..._ "I don't want to sleep."

"What _do_ you want, Carter?" The silence filled the line between them, yawning like the Grand Canyon before he impatiently prompted, "Sam?"

" Someone who's there for me when I need it. Someone who doesn't let me down… I want someone who truly loves me." _Oh God, had she really said that?_ Closing her eyes in embarrassment, she was unprepared for the quiet pain-filled query as it floated across the line.

"And you think _I_ don't?" _God, how could she not know? He'd worn his heart on his sleeve for eight years!_

The pain in his voice caused her to freeze, realizing that she'd slung an invisible arrow at him once again. Sighing, she hedged, "I think you and I are too easily frightened by our emotions."

_Frightened? He was a General, for crying out loud! _"I'm _not _frightened, Carter."

"Pfff!" The nonsense word filled his ear, followed by her snort of disbelief. _Okay, so she wanted truth? Let's see what the Lieutenant Colonel could handle..._ "I've kept my feelings about you close so that I can protect you. You say the word and I will scream it from the top of the Empire State Building! Phone the President! You name it!"

_Damn it, why was he doing this to her!_ "But what if I'm scared?"

"Face your fear! Conquer it!" _Okay, good advice... If you were teaching a kid to ride a bike_. Taking a deep breath, he began, "Sam..."

Her voice was small, as she questioned, "What if I'm not ready to resign from the Air Force?"

Her question covered his quiet use of her name, causing him to freeze before suggesting, "Maybe I am."

"No, you can't do that." Panic filled her at the thought that he would quit; resign and she would never see him again.

"Why not?" Jack demanded. "If it's stopping us from being together?"

"No it'll pull us apart." _Damn, that sounded weak, even to her ears_.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Tapping his fingers against the stack of files, Jack fought to keep the anger from his voice as he added, "I'm tired of living this way, Sam! Seeing you with that asshole… Pete… How many alternate realities do we have to see before you realize that we were meant to be together; that you're_ mine_!"

_Excuse me? Had Ja-…the general, suddenly become a Goa'uld in the last three seconds?_ "Hey! I'm not an object! I belong to no one but myself!"

Silently cursing himself for blurting out what he'd always felt, Jack muttered, "Sorry." Pausing, he could hear the gears turning in the Colonel's head as he struggled to find the words to take her anger away. _Damn, he was such an idiot!_ "Let's sleep on this, Sam."

_Oh, she'd love to..._ Brushing the thought away, Sam whispered, "I'm tired of living this way too, but there's nothing we can do until all the Goa'uld are destroyed. According to the President; we are both supposedly too valuable to the Stargate program to resign just yet."

_Well, she had a point there, damn it._ "Nothing that can be determined tonight anyway."

Glancing around her living room and suddenly realizing how dark it was, Sam snapped on a light, inquiring, "Where are you right now?"

Looking at the stack of files on the seat next to him, Jack frowned, hedging, "I'm, ah… at home, Colonel. I'm an old man… I need my rest."

"Oh." _Well, there went that idea... How dare he call her by her rank now?_ Staring at the picture of her team on the mantel, Sam narrowed her gaze, locking onto his smiling face and glaring as she stated, "Well never mind, **_sir_**!"

_Okay, she'd been about to say something important, he could feel it_. Grinning evilly, he yelled, "_CARTER_!"

Sam's back snapped to attention at the volume in which he called her name and not caring anymore, yelled back, "**_WHAT?_**"

_That was more like it!_ "What were you going to say?"

Biting her lower lip, she replied, "You won't like it."

_God, and the woman had the nerve to call HIM exasperating!_ "Won't like what?"

_Damn it Jack, just leave it be!_ "What I was going to ask."

"What?" _This was worse than pulling teeth... At least the string on the doorknob worked once in a blue moon!_

"No." Her voice pleaded with him not to push the issue, to just accept it and hang up, _but of course, Jack O'Neill never listened did he?_

"Sam… Don't make me come over there!" Jack's voice grew gravely; dangerous, as he added, "If I do we both know I'm not leaving."

"What if it's exactly what I want?" _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Did she really say that?_ Closing her eyes in mortification, Sam prayed for the floor to open up and swallow her.

_Holy shit! Did she actually say... _"Fine… I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Too long." _Well, since she'd already begun digging a hole, why not widen it? _

_Oh God, oh God, Oh God..._"Fifteen?"

_Might as well make it large enough to sleep in… _"Ten!"

Shock filled Jack, causing him to gulp, exclaiming, "Carter, I live across town! And I have a big truck."

Her sigh filled the line as she muttered, "All right."

_Yes!_ Smiling, he leaned against the pillar, offering, "Oh... By the way… I lied…"

"**_What_**?" _He wasn't coming? That lowdown, rotten..._

_Oh, yeah… This was gonna be fun. _The smile that made his enemies tremblecrossed his face as he quietly ordered,"Look out your front door."

Rising, she walked cautiously to the front of the house, opening the door to see him; the beautiful, perfect man of her dreams, smiling at her, his cell phone stuck to his ear as he whispered, "Hello, Sam."

Gasping for air, Sam raised her hand to her chest as she whispered, "Oh my God!"

Clicking his phone off, Jack moved towards her as he laughed, murmuring, "Well not quite the response I was hoping for." That earned him one of her beautiful smiles, as he added, "At least not right now."

A blush raised to her cheeks as she face him, for once unsure of herself. Not knowing what to do or say, Sam jumped as he asked, "May I come in?"

Jolted into action, she stepped to the side and replied, "Sure!"

Jack stepped inside, closing the door and staring at her, softly inquiring, "Where do we go from here?"

_To my bedroom, so I can finally do what I've had in mind for eight years! _Clearing her throat, she suggested, "To the living room?"

Chuckling at her uncustomary nervousness, he followed her into the living room, dropping to sit in across from her, but so close that their knees touched. Reaching to brush her hair away from her face, he whispered, "What do _you _want, Sam? Not the Colonel, not the scientist, you… the _woman_."

"I…" Suddenly tongue-tied, she stared at him, pleading for him to understand.

_Oh no, she wasn't getting away that easy_. Ignoring her blue eyes, he ordered, "Spit it out."

Tears filled her eyes, dropping over her lashes to make wet trails on her cheeks as she mumbled something he didn't understand. _She was feeling so lonely and the one person that should be there for her was treating her like she was nothing. She just wanted to love and be loved in return. Nothing more. Was that so much to ask? Obviously, Pete Shanahan wasn't the right man for her... Jack O'Neill was, but she was so afraid of her feelings and of the consequences for both of them that she was frozen._ Stopping her as she started to drop her head, hiding her emotions from him, he asked, "What is it?"

A loud sob was torn from her chest as she begged, "Please… Hold me…"

_God, how could he deny that?_ Holding his arms out to her, he offered, "C'mere." Wrapping his arms around her shaking form, he buried his face in her hair, murmuring, "That's nice… Now what?"

"Ahh…" _Truth time... Could she actually tell him what she wanted, what she needed, what she wanted?_

Jack lifted her chin with his finger, his eyes meeting hers and noting the exhaustion, pleaded, "Say it, Sam."

"I…" Blushing as she broke into a yawn, Sam dropped her eyes, but brought them back up to meet his as his chest rumbled with a chuckle and he said, "Go to bed, Sam, I'll sleep on the couch."

Pushing her to her feet, Jack watched her through hooded eyes as she moved towards the hallway, her steps reluctant. Stretching out on the couch, he tucked his arm behind his head, still watching her as she paused at the doorway, clearly deliberating leaving him there… alone. Finally taking a deep breath, she stated, "No."

Whirling around, Sam had to bite back a smile as she saw his eyes widen and then that eyebrow lift sardonically as he questioned, "No?"

Nodding her head, Sam repeated, "No."

Pushing up into a sitting position, Jack rubbed a hand over his tired face, his tone cajoling as he began, "Sam…" Breaking off at the look in her eyes; the same one he'd seen so many years ago when she was trapped behind that force shield on old 'Pophy's ship, he closed his eyes, muttering, "Aww hell…"

His eyes popped back open when she burst into tears, and standing, he moved towards her, demanding, "Say it, Sam… What do you want?"

Burying her face in his neck as he wrapped his strong arms around her, she shook her head, crying, "I… c… ca… can't…"

A smile formed on his lips as he brushed them over the crown of her head, as he murmured, "Then, nod. Do you love me, Sam?"

She froze for a split second, her body tense as a bowstring before she slowly nodded, still crying.

_Finally, we're getting somewhere!_ Nuzzling his face against her temple, he questioned, "Do you want to be with me?"

She nodded against his neck as she gave a hiccupping, "Yes."

"Are you willing to put us first, no matter the consequences?" _Please say yes, please say yes, **please** say yes..._

Silence met his inquiry, and lifting his head, he ordered, "Answer me!"

_Oh, God, this is it... I can't..._ Another hiccupped sob escaped her as she declared, "I don't know!"

Nodding, Jack stepped away from her, his fists clenching at his sides as he said, "Then, I think you need to decide." Walking towards her front door, he added, "Go to bed, Carter, I'll see you at the SCG tomorrow morning."

Sam's cries grew louder as she followed him, wailing, "**_NOOOOOOOOOOO_**!"

Whirling around on his heel, Jack's dark eyes glittered dangerously as she retorted, "Yes!"

Her hand reached through the air towards him, her eyes glimmering like blue sapphires as she begged, "Stay!"

Taking another step towards her, he demanded, "Why should I stay?"

"Because…" _Why couldn't she think of a reason, any reason, other than... that?_

Shaking his head, Jack's eyes turned hard as he hissed, "You can't make up your mind and I'm not a damn yo-yo!"

"I know you're not a yo-yo!" Wrapping her arms around her middle she turned back towards the living room window, whispering, "You're a hell of a lot more than that!"

"Then, prove it!" Closing the gap between them his hands landed heavily on her shoulders, demanding, "Make a decision. If I stay, it's forever. If I go, that's it; no more."

Her world was crumbling around her; the only future she wanted was about to walk out the door. Closing her eyes, she gasped, "I'm afraid of the consequences, but I _do _love you."

Moving away from her, he paused, stating, "The choice is yours, Carter. I gave you the options."

Sam watched him walk towards the door, walking out of her life; and taking a deep breath, requested in a murmur, "Jack... Stay. I love you."

Jack paused with his hand on the door, his back stiff as he softly asked, "You're absolutely sure? There's no turning back after this, Carter."

Nodding, but not daring to hope, she whispered emphatically, "Yes!"

The sexy smile returned to his lips as he moved cautiously towards her, as though she would disappear. The same sexy smile that made her toes curl as he said, "This comes with a ring… eventually…"

"Whoa! One step at the time!" _Oh God, I want to say yes... When can I say yes?_

Laughing, he opened his arms, testing the waters as he countered, "I see… so now? What?"

The smile started at the corners of her mouth, slowly spreading across the lips that were driving him mad with the urge to kiss her. She moved towards him, her blue eyes twinkling as she responded, "Now we're both exhausted so I suggest we go to bed." Seeing the sudden spark in his eyes, she quickly added, "To sleep."

Giving a put-upon sigh, he said, "Fine with me. Go to bed, I'll sleep here."

Already shaking her head, she replied, "Negative. You come with me and that's an order."

Jack's smile grew wider as he pulled her into his arms, reminding, "I give the orders, Colonel."

Sam's frown returned as she hissed, "When we're here; there are _no _ranks between us! We're _Sam and Jack_, that's it!"

Nodding and wishing he'd kept his mouth shut, Jack promised, "Fine, but you'll have to forgive me if I slip. After eight years of calling you Carter, I'm bound to forget."

Nodding again, Sam moved towards the hall, softly asking, "So… are you coming or do I have to kick your ass in there?"

"Yes ma'am!" Sauntering after her, he followed her into to her bedroom, shocked at how nervous he felt. Undressing down to his boxers and t-shirt as Sam slipped into the bathroom, he sat on the edge of the bed, wondering if he was dreaming. He had his answer as she opened the door and stepped back into the room wearing loose pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt... _Nope, in none of his dreams did she ever wear something that plain!_

Crawling in on the opposite side, he pulled her into his arms, staring into her eyes as he lowered his head towards hers. Growling as her sigh of pleasure filled the room, he deepened his kiss, forcing himself to pull away before it went too far. Holding her tightly, he brushed his lips against her temple, whispering, "G'night, Sam."

Sam's whole body was shaking with happiness as she hugged him back, a silent tear creeping from the corner of her eye to dampen his t-shirt as she replied, "G'night, Jack."

Placing another kiss on her forehead, he added, "I love you, Sam, never forget that. I will _always _be there for you... No matter what."

Sam felt her heart clench as he unknowingly echoed the words her subconscious version of him had said to her so many months before on the Prometheus, she nodded, another hiccupped sob escaping as she stated, "Ditto." For the first time in her life, she felt complete. She knew she was safe in his arms and that he'd never run away from her or deceive her.

Watching as she drifted off to sleep, Jack smiled and wondered why in the hell his luck had suddenly changed. Giving her another tight hug, he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to creep up on him as he listened to her even breathing. Sighing as sleep tugged him down into the whirling mass of dreams, he smiled and whispered, "Sam..."


	3. Thunder ch 3 Reverberating Questions

**Rating: Teen to Mature**

**Season: Alternate Future**

**Email: in bio**

**_Ariel's note:_**** Here's chapter 3. I hope you'll like it as much as you liked the first two. If you want chapter 4 soon, put pressure on Eridani! She's the one who keeps the chapters as hostages! But without her there'd be no story so… Please review!**

**_Eridani's Note:_**** Sure, sure, blame me… They aren't hostages… Honest! If they want to edit themselves, I'd be more than happy to pass the task along to them. The delays are caused by my exhausting work schedule… So please bear with me while I try to find the energy to edit before my bed beckons to me again. Please make Ariel smile and send tons of reviews!**

**Thunder 3**

**Reverberating Questions**

Opening her eyes to the bright sunlight streaming through her window, Sam shifted away from the light and froze, shocked to see Jack still lying on her bed, fully awake, his arm laced over her stomach like a protective barrier, watching her. Smiling, she cautiously reached out, tracing the laugh lines around his eyes as she whispered, "Oh wow... So, it wasn't a dream, you're really here?"

Jack's smile broadened as he brushed her tousled hair from her eyes, replying, "Yes… Sam, I'm really here." Leaning towards her, he gently kissed her, nuzzling his face in her neck before lifting his head and softly asking, "How are you with… _this_?"

"I'm fine... really." Her smile grew dreamy as she relived waking up in his embrace; and tracing designs on his chest, she added, "Never been that fine in my entire life."

"Ummm… well… good…" Nibbling at her fingers, he sighed and said, "You know; I realized somewhere around four a.m. that I left my truck in your driveway."

Sleepy confusion filled Sam's eyes as she struggled to stay awake and yawning loudly, she countered, "So?"

"Ummm…. What if someone saw the truck, Carter... Er, Sam?" Grinning as her eyes widened and all traces of sleep fled, he added, "I don't care about me, but you still have a long and promising career ahead of you and I don't want to mess that up."

Panic filled her as she pushed from the bed, running her hands through her hair and causing further disarray as she finally processed what he was saying. "Oh! Oh God, I didn't think about that. What are we going to do?"

Rising, Jack wrapped his arms around her from behind, gently rocking her from side to side as he kissed her neck, advising, "First we wait and see if there is any fallout and then we deal with it... I'm here for you Sam, I'm not going anywhere, and you have my promise on that." Glancing at her bedside table, he winced and said, "Ummm… well… I'm going to go… I need to run by my house and change. See you at the base?"

Sam was unable to hide her disappointment as she nodded and wrapped her arms around her middle, stepping away from him as he turned to look for his clothes. Moving to her bedroom window, she felt the prick of tears in her eyes and struggled to stop them and she replied, "Well… I guess so…"

_Aww hell… I didn't mean to hurt her!_ Moving back to her, Jack wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her deeply before whispering, "Sam, if it were up to me, we'd stay here in this bed all day, but I have a base to run and if I'm not mistaken, you have a mission to P4X-977 this morning."

The harshness of reality set in and nodding, she gave a little shiver as she questioned, "Okay, okay. When will I see you again?"

Jack smiled at her nervousness in asking the question and responded, "At the 0800 briefing." _Damn briefing… I'd like to debrief… _

Shaking her head, Sam clarified, "No, I meant when will I see _Jack _again not the General."

_D'oh!_ Smiling at his own sudden nervousness, he stated, "Tomorrow night when you get back."

"I don't want to be offworld that long!" Sam whined, before realizing how childish it sounded. This was her job, for crying out loud! _But that didn't change her desire to make up for the years they'd wasted being frightened of what was between them._ Rubbing her arms in the sudden chill of the room, she muttered, "Brrr! I'm so cold!"

Jack wrapped his arms tighter around Sam, and rubbing her arms, suggested, "Go… Grab a warm shower and I'll see you at the SGC in about an hour."

Sighing, Sam nodded, muttering, "All right, but it would be so much better if..." Mentally slapping herself, she silently chastised, _Damn it Samantha, get your mind out of the gutter!_

Flashing her his evil grin as he silently finished the sentence, Jack leaned toward her, kissing Sam deeply before murmuring, "I love you Sam… don't ever forget that."

Tears flooded her eyes again as she repeated, "I love you too."

Jack dressed quickly, ever mindful of her watching his six... when there was no reason to. Turning, he grabbed his truck keys from her dresser and pausing, questioned, "Sam… I… Are you sure this is what you want?"

"What about you?" _That's it Sam... A question with a question..._

Jack's eyes narrowed dangerously as he tossed his keys from one hand to the other, quietly saying, "I know what _I_ want… Now, I want to know what **_you_**want."

"I want you!" _God, after all of her damn tears, how could he even question that?_

"Good!" The broad smile returned, and dropping a quick kiss on her lips, he moved towards the door, wondering if he was brave enough to consume the caffeine provided by the Golden Arches. He was halfway through the door when she called, "Wait!"

Pausing once again, he turned, raised and eyebrow and questioned, "Yeah?"

Sam felt her face flush red, but forced herself to ask, "Don't you want me?"

Disbelief wiped the grin from his face, causing his mouth to drop open as he yelled, "Of course I do! Hell, I've wanted you for eight friggin years!"

Sam felt the smile burst onto her face and nodding, teased, "See you later, alligator!"

Returning her smile, he winked, kissed her cheek again and moved towards her living room, calling behind him, "Be seeing you Sam!"

Sam grabbed a quick shower and practically raced to the base. At the briefing, they both acted as they'd always acted with each other, but the smile on Jack's face and the sparkle in Sam's eyes made Daniel suspect something was going on between them. Jack stood at the base of the ramp and watched his future walk through the wall of 'water', praying that she made it back to him in one piece.

On P4X 977, Sam set about taking soil samples, as Daniel began to study some ruins with Teal'c. As the colonel moved to the back side of the ruins, Daniel moved closer to his Jaffa friend and questioned, "Teal'c, did you notice anything odd about Sam and Jack's behaviour?"

The Jaffa raised his eyebrow and replied, "I did not Daniel Jackson. Is there any problem I am not aware of?"

"No. No problem." Shoving his glasses back up on his nose, Daniel glanced in the direction Sam had gone, before asking, "Don't you think they look… I don't know… _happier_?"

Teal'c was unsure as to where the archaeologist's line of questioning was headed, and chose to reply, "I do not believe that their private lives are any of our concern, Daniel Jackson."

_God, the man could be so annoyingly proper sometimes!_ Taking a few steps in the direction their leader had gone, Daniel muttered, "Maybe we should ask Sam about it."

Teal'c's hand snaked out to grab Daniel's arm, preventing him from leaving their current position as he stated, "I do not believe it is a good idea, Daniel Jackson. If Colonel Carter does not wish to tell us why she is happy, it is her right. As her friends, we should not attempt to interrogate her."

"Interrogate me about what?" Crossing her arms over her chest, Sam glanced from the large imposing man to his irritated friend and demanded, "Alright guys, what the hell is going on?"

"Teal'c and I were just discussing..." "Daniel Jackson wished to know the cause of..."

Holding her hand up as they both began to speak at the same time, Sam yelled, "Oh for crying out loud! Daniel, what the hell is this about?"

Tilting his head to the side, Daniel studied his friend and leader and blurted, "We want to know what's going on with you, Jack and all the strange looks?"

_Uh oh! Danger zone!_ Sam's mind was racing… Should she tell Daniel and Teal'c about what happened? No! Janet deserved the honor as her best friend and since the good doctor was presently on another planet... Avoiding the question was the best thing to do right now. Giving him a strange look Sam defended, "Looks Daniel? I have no idea what you're talking about." Shaking her head as though amused as she moved back towards the MALP, Sam muttered, "Damn irritating scientists! Now I can see Jack's point eight years ago..."

Grinning as the woman disappeared from sight, Daniel elbowed his friend in the stomach and asked, "Did you hear what she called him?" Snickering, Daniel began to take pictures of the ruins for further study as he offered, "Bet you fifty bucks Jack's truck was parked at her house last night."

"Daniel Jackson." Waiting until the other man had turned to face him, Teal'c grinned and demanded, "How stupid do you think I am?"

"Good point." Squinting at the still rising sun, Daniel suddenly returned the large man's grin and inquired, "Wonder if we can still get in on that bet about them..."

"Daniel Jackson, we have already established that I am not stupid." Crossing his massive arms Teal'c smirked and added, "I placed my bet eight years ago."

For the entire time they were on the planet, Daniel wouldn't stop questioning Sam about her relationship with Jack. He was worse than a kid with the eternally annoying 'why?', and Sam's head had started to hurt after five hours of questioning. Unfortunately, now it was throbbing and she didn't have a single aspirin to kill the wrenching pain.

Forty excruciatingly long hours later, SG1 finally made it back to the base to find General O'Neill waiting for them at the bottom of the gate ramp. His face filled with a smile as he held his arms wide and called, "Evening Campers! How was the trip?"

Grimacing as the SF relieved her of her P-90, zat and her pack, Sam rolled her shoulders, responding, "Painful, sir."

The smile disappeared, instantly replaced with concern as he studied her weary face, demanding, "Why? What happened?"

"I have a huge headache, sir." _Do you really thing 'huge' covers the size of this headache Sam?_

Moving towards her, Jack's eyes scanned her body for signs of injury and finding none, questioned, "Why? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

Shaking her head, Sam replied, "I don't think so, sir."

"Okay… So, off to the showers with ya. Then your post mission physicals and we'll debrief in oh… Two hours?" Raising an eyebrow, he didn't have long to wait as they all sighed in relief and replied, "Yes, sir!"

Smiling again as the team nodded, he allowed Daniel and Teal'c to move towards the door as he called, "Carter… could you remain for a moment?"

"Sure!" Tilting her head to the side, her curiosity was further tweaked as he added, "My office, Carter."

Smiling broadly, she sauntered after him replying, "Yes, sir!"

Entering the office behind him, she closed the door and watched in amusement as he locked the other door, closed the blinds to the briefing room and disabled the security camera. Her smile turned into a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her and burying his face in her hair, softly questioned, "Car… Sam, are you really okay?"

Rubbing her face against his chest, Sam tried not to think about how tired she was as she answered, "Sure, s… Jack. It's just because of Daniel."

"What did he do now?" Rolling his eyes, wondering what the accident-prone man could have done to earn Sam's irritation, he was unprepared for when she quietly stated,

"I'm sure he knows about us."

Jack froze; his eyes widening as he cursed, "Oh shit…" _Do I tell her about…_ Shaking his head to clear the thought, he quietly asked, "What makes you say that?"

Her sigh was heartfelt, one he remembered well, as she muttered, "He didn't stop bugging me during the whole damn mission."

"About?" Okay, so he was really confused now...

"Why was I so happy, what were all the smiles between us about, what was going on between us." Stifling a yawn, she discreetly glanced at his clock and prayed that Daniel and Teal'c were out of the showers when she made it there.

"And what did you say?" _God, this was like pulling teeth today._

Sighing and stepping away from him, Sam accepted the fact that he wasn't going to let her catch a five-minute nap in his arms. Rubbing her aching temples, she demanded, "What did you want me to say? 'I'm happy because I spent the entire night in the arms of my_ CO_?'"

Her harsh tone surprised him and holding up his hands, he responded, "Hell no! But what _did_ you say? I need to know what damage control to do here, Sam."

"Hey! Don't you trust me?" Pain flashed through her eyes, quickly hidden as she added, "I said it was none of his business why I was happy."

_Okay... that made sense, but..._ "Then why were both he and Teal'c grinning like idiots in the gate room?"

Growling in exasperation, she groused, "I don't know! May I get a shower now, or do I continue to smell up your office? I feel horrible."

Feeling guilty for having delayed her, remembering all too well how that first shower after a mission felt, he waved his hand, dismissing her as he said, "Okay… I'll see you later then."

Sam turned to leave, but was stopped as he called, "Oh, Sam?"

Pausing at the door, she raised a curious eyebrow and gave a tired, "Yes?"

"Nothing… just this…" Kissing her deeply, he laughed at the wistful sigh that filled his office as he whispered, "My house... Pizza, beer and a movie?"

"Hummm that was good..." Realizing that it definitely wasn't the time or place, she winked, asking, "What time?"

His brain scrambled to figure out the earliest he could depart the mountain and with a smile, questioned, "20:00?"

"Sounds great!" _As long as I can stretch out as soon after that is possible..._

Nodding, Jack watched as she walked from the room, calling, "See you later then." Looking at the message stamped "PRIORITY" that had been lying on his desk for the last two days, he sighed, dropping into his chair and running his hands over the back of his neck. Staring at the paper with dread and hatred, he couldn't help but wonder, _Do I give this to her and ruin what we could have together or do I ruin it by not giving it?_

Later that night at 20:00 exactly, Sam found herself knocking at Jack's front door. He opened the door with a concern look, saying, "Hi Sam! Come on in!"

Offering him a tired smile, she kissed his cheek and replied, "Hi Jack!"

Grabbing her as she started to slip past him, he pushed her against the door, kissing her for a few seconds before pulling away and closing his eyes, stated, "Listen Sam, before we go any further tonight, I need to tell you… Pete called."

Her world started to crumble around her, her smile fading as she whispered, "Oh!"

"He said to tell you that he would be here tomorrow night." Feeling like the dreaded messenger of old, Jack could only pray that she wouldn't kill him... or what was between them.

"I… I…" Struggling for words, Sam felt the tears start to flood her eyes as she looked up at him for guidance, instead finding the brown pools closed to her.

Refusing to allow her to see how the other man's call was ripping him apart, he murmured, "Your choice, Carter. I did what was right and told you. Now it's up to you."

Sam felt hundreds of different emotions running through her; confusion and hurt being the strongest, as she watched him sit on the couch with a beer. His eyes met hers as he callously asked, "So… What's it going to be, Carter?"

A new emotion took over as anger flooded her; turning her face red and causing her eyes to blaze as she hissed, "Screw the Carter, would you?"

His head snapped back at the tone of her voice and nodding, he demanded, "Fine, **_Sam_**, what's it going to be?"

_God, why was he doing this to her?_ Pacing around the room with her arms wrapped around her stomach, she begged, "Give me a chance to breathe."

"Fine… take all the time you need." Rising, Jack bounded up the few stairs, walking into the kitchen and slammed his fist into a cabinet door. His mind was whirling with the fact that he was an inch from losing the woman he'd finally admitted to loving.

_Damn it! Why is this always happening to me?_ Tossing his empty bottle in the recycling bin, he snagged another from the fridge as his mind argued; _You did the right thing O'Neill… She has to make the choice for herself._

Pausing at the kitchen door, Sam gave it a timid knock as she whispered, "Jack?"

_Who the hell else did she think it was? _Taking another deep draw on the beer, he growled, "Yeah?"

_Okay, enough was enough._ Placing her hands on her hips, she yelled, "Get the hell out here!"

Turning slowly, he gave her a long perusing look as a sarcastic smile crossed his face and he demanded, "You're going to make me... how?"

"Please!" _She'd call Teal'c if she had to, but the damn stubborn General was going to listen to what she had to say!_

Sighing, Jack closed his eyes and quietly asked, "What is it Car… Sam?"

Swallowing against her fear, she whispered, "I've made my choice."

Jack felt his heart stop at her words, and taking a tentative step towards hers, he softly questioned, "And?"

Watching as she swallowed nervously and refused to meet his eyes, he felt his heart shatter completely. Leaning against the kitchen door, he closed his eyes, wondering, _Where the hell did I put my gun, 'cause I can't live if she chooses him._


	4. Thunder ch 4 Repercussions

_**XXXXXXXX**_

**Authors: Ariel Carter-O'Neill and Eridani Moon**

**Rating: Teen to Mature**

**Season: Alternate Future**

**Email: in bio**

**_Ariel's note:_ Thank you so much for the reviews! Here's Sam's decision. Hope you'll like it! Once again, special thanks to Eridani, you rock!**

**_Eridani's Note:_ Thanks again for the reviews, they mean so much after working on this for so long. Hope everyone keeps reading… And hang on tight, cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride…**

**Thunder 4**

**Repercussions**

Jack stared at Sam with trepidation. Their future depended on what she was about to say and he could only pray it didn't destroy him.

Swallowing again, Sam began, "You've always been there when I needed someone..."

"Yeah… and?" Interrupted Jack, his body shaking with emotion and the need to take her in his arms. Clasping her hands together, Sam added, "And it's what I need."

_Oh, for crying out loud, she was killing him here!_ "SPIT IT OUT SAMANTHA!"

"I LOVE YOU JACK O'NEILL!" Startled by the vehemence in her words, Sam felt her eyes widen as she dropped her voice, adding, "I thought you'd understood that two days ago!"

Taking several steps towards her, Jack clenched his fists to keep from grabbing her, from holding her and never letting her go as he growled, "I understand that, but what's your decision?"

"Damn it!" _Couldn't he see how hard this was for her_?

Her tears nearly did him in as he begged, "Call me dense, thick, whatever… I need to hear it Sam…" He stepped closer to her, crowding her as he added, "I need to see you say the words, see them fall from your lips."

Grabbing the collar of his shirt, she dragged him against her, crushing her lips to his as she poured her emotions into him with a sob. Raising her head several minutes later, she ignored the tears coursing down her face as she whispered, "I choose you because I love you. Is that more clear to you?"

The smile spread slowly across Jack's face, wiping the years of pain from his eyes as he replied, "Yeah… yeah… that's clear." Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he kissed her again, stealing her breath, laughing at her moans as his hands began to rub up and down her back. Lifting his head, he murmured, "I love you Sam… I want you, but you'd better go before…"

**_What?_**_ Was he insane? She'd just chosen to spend her life with him and he wanted her to leave?_ "I don't want to go."

_God, she wasn't going to make this easy on him!_ "Sam, if you stay, we're going to… And I don't want that between us until you call it off with Shenanigans."

"Stop calling him like that." She might not have chosen him, but Pete didn't deserve the other man's derision.

Shrugging, Jack stated, "I can't help it!"

Sighing again... _God, she seemed to be doing that so much anymore_, she ran her fingers through her hair, tousling it as she asked, "Where'd you leave the phone this time?"

Pointing vaguely to the counter between the dining room and living room, he replied, "Over there... somewhere." Watching as she moves towards the device, he suddenly frowned, and stopping her, stated, "Sam… you need to do this in person. Even Shenan… even he deserves better than a telephone break up."

Red tinged her cheeks as she nodded, saying, "You're right. I don't know what was I thinking. I'm sorry."

Love flooded Jack as he watched her battling the exhaustion and pulling her into his arms again, rocked her from side to side as he said, "Sam… go home and sleep. Wait for him tomorrow night and tell him then… I'm not going anywhere."

"You're sure?" She couldn't help the uncertainty that crept into her voice, but was too tired to care.

Nodding against her hair, he kissed her forehead, replying, "Yes." Hugging her tighter, he softly kissed her lips and then softly said, "I love you Sam and I don't want anything more hanging between us than necessary."

Smiling, she gave a brief nod, adding, "Okay, but you still owe me a pizza-beer-movie night."

Laughing, Jack twirled her around, replying, "I promise."

Placing her back on her feet, he watched while she gathered her jacket and purse, remorse filling him that it had to be this way, that they had to put off being 'together' another night. He sighed heavily as she opened the door, started to leave and then, pausing, turns around to call his name, "Jack?"

Forcing a smile he didn't feel onto his face, he replied, "Yeah, babe?"

Her heart shone through her eyes as she moved back towards him, her arms twining around his neck as she said, "I love you!"

Jack felt his heart clench with a happiness that he'd never thought would possible again as he whispered, "I love you too, Sam… more than you will ever know.

His lips met hers halfway, sliding over the sensitive flesh as his tongue darted inside, twisting with hers as his hands slipped beneath the edge of her blouse. He felt her shiver at the contact and breaking the kiss with a gasp, he muttered, "Mmmmm that's good… Go Carter, before I forget my good intentions and drag you to my bedroom."

Sam's only reply was to continue kissing him as her hands drifted down to caress the tight rear she'd fantasized about for the last eight years. Groaning loudly, he captured her lips once again, his tongue delving deep inside until she whimpered, causing him to break the kiss, practically whining, "Sammmmmm…"

Groaning loudly as her hands started to slip inside of his suddenly taut jeans, he pushed her away and ordered, "Go damn it!"

An evil grin spread across Sam's face as she touched her swollen lips and said, "I'll call you tomorrow night."

"You know where I'll be." _God, if she didn't go, he was going to take her right here against the damn door! _

Smiling smugly as she watched a shiver course through him, Sam threw him a wink and stated, "Yes."

Giving him one last, longing look, Sam slipped from the house, fumbling her car keys in the ignition as she realised the turning point she'd just made. Slowly driving back home, her mind was filled with hundreds of different thoughts that insisted on running through her mind incessantly. _Was her decision the right one? How Pete was going to react? What if Jack decided that he didn't want her and left? _

Arriving home she forced herself to finish her post-mission report on her laptop and then set it aside with a welcome sigh of relief. Turning in early was a rarity for her, but when the last four days became an exhausting blur, she gave up the fight and slipped into the welcoming haven of her sheets. The next morning, she awoke feeling lonely in her king size bed and then smiled when she thought that next time she woke up she wouldn't be alone and hopefully would never be again for the rest of her life. She had the day off, but for once in her life, she didn't wanted to go to work and face Daniel and his three billion questions. He had bugged her enough during their last mission and she just wasn't ready for more questions about her relationship with Jack... Not when it was still so new.

Deciding to work at home, she was pleasantly surprised to find the day passed fairly quickly and before she even realized it, it was already night and she wasn't ready. She grabbed a quick shower and dressed in loose, comfortable clothes, drying her hair haphazardly and realizing that Jack would never really care what it looked like... He'd loved her when it had looked like a weed-wacker had gotten a hold of it! Ten minutes later, Pete's knock sounded at the door and she still wasn't ready to face him. Opening the door cautiously, she was startled when he rushed into her arms, squeezing her in a tight embrace.

Trying to capture her lips with his, he murmured, "Oh I missed you!"

Struggling against his embrace, Sam frowned as she realized that for the first time, she was afraid of how he might react. Pushing against his chest, she cried, "You're suffocating me Pete! Let me go!"

He released her, looking at her with concern. Frowning, he demanded, "Sam? What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me?"

_Of course he couldn't take the subtle hint, she was going to have to hammer it into his thick skull._ Moving away from him she stated, "We need to talk."

The frown deepened, as he demanded, "About what?"

_Okay, that's the way he wanted to play it? Hammer strike one..._ "About us."

Moving back towards her, Pete reached out to take her into his arms again, saying, "Sam? Are you all right? You're scaring me!"

Forcing some of the steel that had earned her, her new rank into her voice, she stated, "Sit down."

Pete sat cautiously, still looking very worried as Sam sat in front of him, but making sure to keep a certain distance between them. Tilting his head to the side in confusion, he questioned, "Are you sick?"

Giving a negative shake of her head, she replied, "No, I'm fine."

"What is it then?" _Okay, so he wasn't the smartest guy on the block, but something was definitely wrong here..._

Sam's voice was filled with ice as she let the second strike of the hammer fall, demanding, "Where have you been for the last two months?"

His face took on that familiar defensive look that she'd always let slide before as he defended, "Where do you think I was? I was in Denver, working!"

"Then why didn't you call me back? Why didn't you come to see me?" _Hammer strike three and he still hadn't realized it._

"Because I was on an important investigation and I was at work all the time! I couldn't leave town, and barely had time to grab myself a shower everyday… I figured you were offworld, so what's the problem?" _How dare she question what he'd been doing? He sure as hell didn't question what she did inside that damn mountain or when she was supposedly on 'other planets'... Well at least not since..._

_Damn, his eyes were already glazing over! And she'd thought Jack had a short attention span..._ "I… I need to tell you something…"

His eyes cleared as his face lit up and he yelled, "You're pregnant? I'm going to be a daddy? God I'm so happy!" Rising to hug her, he frowned as she stopped him before he reached her.

"No, Pete, I'm not pregnant." _Oh God, she couldn't handle that! Not with him..._ _And she didn't even know if she could after Jolinar…_

"Then what?" _Okay... The woman has totally lost me here... Anyone got a roadmap? Oh, wait... I can't read those either..._

"It's over between us." _Ok... Evidently he was a bit thicker than she'd always thought._

Pete looked at her, stunned, for several seconds and then yelled, "What?"

"I'm sorry." _Well, she never meant to hurt him anyway._

"You're sorry?" Pete couldn't keep the anger out of his voice, his fists clenching as he continued, "You're telling me that it's over and that you're sorry? I can't believe it! Why? Why suddenly it's over? I thought we were happy together! _Ohhhh!_ I see who's behind this! It's because of him!"

"Who?" _Oh God, he couldn't know, could he?_

"Jack O'Neill! Your CO!" Rising and taking a menacing step towards her, his eyes spewed with hatred as she accused, "You love him don't you? You've always loved him, even when you were sleeping with me! I can't believe that you'd leave me for that old-timer!"

"Listen, I…" _Oh God, why hadn't Jack let her do this over the phone?_

"Shut up you bitch!" Closing the gap between them, he slapped her in the face. She was in shock and didn't react. She couldn't believe that he had hit her.

"You played with me!" The accusations filled the room, causing her to cringe. "You betrayed me! You're not going to be with him! You belong to me!"

His hands began to pound all over her body, forcing the shock from her body as she tried to defend herself. _She was Lieutenant-Colonel Samantha Carter for crying out loud! The woman who had killed hundreds of Jaffa, taken out half of the Goa'uld and managed to escape a super-soldier almost single-handedly! Was she really so weak as to fall under the blows of a simpleton cop? _

Underestimating him and his anger, Sam found herself caught off-guard, the blows violently raining down on her. She fell to the floor, curling into a ball as he started kicking her with his feet. Tripping, she managed to crawl a few feet away, desperate to stand up and defend herself, but the action just increased his anger. She tried to hit him back; the way Jack had taught her, but he anticipated her move and her blows met only air. She finally managed to reach the phone and touch the autodial button. As the phone began to ring, she tried to escape from her former boyfriend.

_Pick up the phone damn it... Pick up the phone!_

At his home, Jack answered the phone, convinced that it was Sam. A smile filled his face as he stated, "O'Neill."

"_Ow!"_ The sound of a loud fight met his ears as Sam's voice cried, " Jack! Jack, help!"

Fear filled him at the pleading tone in his woman's voice, as Jack demanded, "What the hell is going on? Sam?" The only response was the sound of something shattering in the background. Gripping the phone tighter, he yelled, "Sam? Where are you?"

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_ The pain in her voice scared the hell out of him as he began to look around frantically for his keys. Spotting them on the end table, he grabbed them and yelled, "I'm on my way!"

"Help!" Sam struggled to stay conscious, not wanting to lose the connection with him, even as the blackness encroached on her vision. As she felt herself pulled under, she heard his voice, as though from a distance, call, "Hide Sam! Shoot him if you have to!"

Jack moved towards the door, freezing as the sound of the dead phone filled the line. Cursing, he tossed it to the side, snagging his cell phone from the table and racing from the house as he yelled, "Damn it! I knew something like this would happen!"

Arriving at her house ten minutes later, he didn't see the detective's car and entering cautiously, calling her name. Receiving no response, he began to search the house, finally finding her in the kitchen, lying on the floor, unconscious. There was no sign of Pete. Crouching on the floor beside her, he yelled, "SAM! Damn it, Sam, open your eyes!"

Checking for her pulse, he found it weak but steady and then quickly checked the rest of her body for injuries, his stomach turning at the damage that had been done to her beautiful body. Placing his hand on her cheek, he begged, "C'mon baby, open your eyes!"

When he still received no response from her, he used his cell phone to call for ambulance and then alerted the SGC that he was on his in way with Sam. Ending the call, he barely heard her as she murmured, "Jack?"

A smile of relief crossed his face as he cajoled, "C'mon baby… that's it… open your eyes."

Blinking, Sam opened her eyes and tried to focus on him, questioning, "Jack?"

"Hey baby… do you hurt anywhere?" Wishing he had a flashlight to check her pupils, he coaxed, "Can you move your fingers and toes?"

Wincing, she managed to move her fingers a little, earning herself another of his smiles. Her frustration grew as he ordered, "Sam? C'mon… wiggle the toes baby!"

"I can't…" Shaking her head, she wished he would just let her sleep, but knew there was a reason he wasn't... _What was it..._

"Try baby! Try!" Trying to keep the fear from his voice and off his face, he watched her feet as she managed a little wiggle, wincing as her cry of pain filled the room.

"_AAAAAAAAAA!"_

Mild relief flooded him as he offered her an over-bright smile and whispered, "There you go! That's a good sign, even though it hurts."

He heard the siren on the ambulance as it made it's way down her street and placing his hand on her face, stated, "I gotta go open the door baby… Don't try to sit up or move!"

"Don't leave me!" Panic filled her at the thought of being alone again and forcing her arm up, she begged, "Stay..."

"Baby, I have to open the door, they can't help you if I don't!" Dropping a kiss on her forehead, he whispered, "I promise, I'll be right back!"

He ran to open the door, identifying himself and leading the EMT's to where Sam was crying silent tears. Hearing his approach, she whispered, "Jack…"

"Sam?" Fear filled him at the weakness in her voice, and grasping her hand with his left one, he ran his right hand over her hair, questioning, "What is it baby?"

"Pain… so much pain…" The darkness was closing in again... _She was so afraid of the darkness..._

"I know sweetheart. Just let the EMT's do their job" Dropping another kiss on her hand, he added, "They're going to take you to the SGC… It's the best medical help you can get… just hang in there!"

Panic caused her eyes to fly open again as she hoarsely screamed, "Jack… don't leave me!"

Guilt slammed into him for making her tell Pete face to face and for not being there for her. "I'm not going anywhere, but I need to lock the house up. I'm going to follow in my truck, okay?"

He didn't get any answer from her because she'd slipped into unconsciousness again. Nodding at the paramedics, his 'I'm a General, don't mess with me' tone took over as he ordered, "Damn it! Get her to Cheyenne Mountain! They're expecting us and someone will meet you at the security gate"

Slamming through the house, he locked things up as quickly as he could, wincing at the disaster area and then followed in his truck, breaking every speed limit and pulling in right behind the ambulance. Thankful that being a General had some advantages, he left the keys in the ignition and jumped into the elevator as the doors were closing. Staring down at the pale and bruised face of the woman he loved, he prayed that they weren't too late to fix his own stupidity.


	5. Thunder ch 5 Regrets

**XXXXXXX**

**Authors: Ariel Carter-O'Neill and Eridani Moon **

**Rating: Teen to Mature**

**Email: in bio**

**_Eridani's note_****: _Thoroughly douses flaming reviews with fire extinguisher_ If you don't have something nice to say, keep your fingers quiet! Ariel has worked very hard on this story and doesn't deserve the nasty reviews you are tossing her way. Sure, Sam is level 3 combat trained, but that doesn't stop the shock that fills you when someone you have cared for turns on you. The shock that immobilizes you and makes you unable to fight back. If you think it does, go talk to someone that has lived through it; you might be surprised by what you hear. As for Jack calling the EMT's and police on his way to Sam's… His mind was otherwise occupied and he just didn't think of it. He's used to handling similar situations all on his own and that's what he did. Finally, if you don't like the plot of the story, don't read. The rest of the reviews are welcomed.**

**_Ariel's Note_****: I know that I'm overreacting, but as Eridani said, I've worked very hard on this story and since I'm only human, I can forget stuff. But then again, show me a fic where EVERYTHING _is_ right. Even the series writers are making mistakes. I'll try to pay more attention on future chapters, if there are any... Thanks for the encouraging reviews, I hope you'll like this chapter as much as the others.**

**Thunder 5**

**Regrets **

As the elevator doors slid open on the medical floor, they found Janet and two nurses waiting for them. Janet gave a horrified intake of breath and switched into doctor mode, yelling, "We'll take it from here! Let's get her inside people; I want X-Rays and a CT-scan! Move!"

The petite woman was full in charge of her friend. The little group rushed into the infirmary as Janet yelled at Jack to stay out while she and the nurses examined Sam, and sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, he stared blankly at the wall, praying he wasn't about to lose the lively blonde that had stolen his heart. He sat there, unmindful of the cold that seeped into him, making his bones stiff, impatiently waiting for Janet to make an appearance. Time seemed to stand still, each tick of the clock on the wall taking a millennium as he silently cursed himself for not being there with her when she'd told Pete.

Two hours of self-recriminations later, the little brunette slipped from the medical ward, her face etched with exhaustion as she tried to offer the general a smile, failing horribly. Sliding down the opposite wall, she met his gaze as he softly questioned, "Is she okay?"

General O'Neill's concern for the Colonel didn't surprise her, it had always been that way between the two of them, but the pain and fear clearly written on his face shocked her and she knew that if Sam didn't make it, they'd be losing their commander as well. Sighing, she took a moment to compose her thoughts, replying, "It was touch and go for a while, but she's stabilized now. She has several severe injuries but she'll be fine in a few weeks... Sir, what the hell happened?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply, struggling to put the horrible scenario into words and finding himself unable to speak. Shaking his head, he jumped as a comforting hand landed on his shoulder and Daniel quietly reiterated, "Yeah, what the hell happened?"

The memory of Sam's frantic call and the horror of finding her on the floor, bloody and battered, filled his mind and Jack began to shake as he felt rage invading his body. His was soft, but as deadly as any blade as he stated, "Pete."

"Pete?" Janet couldn't contain her shock. She had met the guy once or twice and didn't much care for him, but she never thought he would hurt Sam. Shaking her head, she angrily demanded, "_Pete_ did this to Sam?"

Jack nodded slowly, his hands clenching and unclenching as he imagined wrapping his hands around the other man's throat. The look in his eyes was one Daniel had seen too many times as they had dealt with the Goa'uld and his head drew back as Jack asked in a clipped tone, "How is she _right _now?"

"She has a severe concussion and she's unconscious but not in a coma. But… she's in bad shape sir." The petite doctor's voice wavered as she ran her hand through her hair, quietly explaining the extent of Sam's injuries. "She has a few broken ribs, a punctured lung; her left wrist is broken; there is a lot of bruising on her legs and I had to put a cast on the left one in case she has a stress fracture… That won't show up right away. The bruise to her head worried me but I think she's going to be fine if she wakes up soon."

Jack's breath hissed in his chest, as he hoarsely demanded, "What about her spine? She had trouble moving her toes."

"She has a very big bruise at the base of her spine; several along the entire spinal column, indicating the severity of the attack, but don't worry she'll walk again." Janet played with the edge of her lab coat, glancing at Daniel and then nodding at the general. That she wanted him to ask the questions she couldn't was obvious, and with a sigh, the archaeologist slid to the floor beside them, asking, "Jack? Why were you the one to bring her in? How did you know she was in trouble?"

"Because she called me for help!" Slamming his head back against the concrete wall, he barely registered the pain as he whispered, "It was horrible, I could hear him hitting her and I couldn't do damn thing to save her… May I go see her?"

Janet nibbled at her lower lip; replying, "She won't know you're there, sir."

Jack was already pushing to his feet as he flatly stated, "I don't care, I just want to be near her when she wakes up."

"All right." Nodding, the doctor watched as the General began to push through the swinging door, calling, "Call me if there are any changes!"

"Thanks Janet." His tone was completely emotionless as he stepped into the infirmary and allowed the door to swing closed behind him. Glancing at Daniel, Janet gave her friend a confused look, as she demanded, "What's going on with them? I've never seen him that upset."

Giving one of his wry smiles, Daniel pushed to his feet, offering his hand to the woman as he questioned, "Do you want to come with me to the mess? I'll explain what Teal'c and I concluded on our last mission."

Curious, Janet followed Daniel to the mess, praying that whatever was going on, her friend could recover and find happiness with the man that cared enough to risk his career to save her. Each grabbed a cup of coffee and moved to take a table in an isolated corner. After taking a refreshing sip of the hot brew, Janet asked, "So… What exactly did you and Watson conclude, Sherlock?"

Leaning towards the doctor, Daniel questioned, "Did you notice that Sam has looked a lot happier in the last four days?"

Raising a curious eyebrow, the doctor prompted, "Yeah… and?"

The smile on Daniel's face grew as he added, "And Jack is happier too."

Exhausted from the hours of treating her friend, Janet shook her head and questioned, "So?"

Giving the woman an exasperated sigh, Daniel threw his hands up, declaring, "So, one plus one, equals two!"

Sudden understanding filled her eyes as she stated, "You mean they both finally woke up and saw what was right in front of them?"

"Think about it!" Nodding swiftly, Daniel shoved his glasses back up on his face, continuing, "It makes perfect sense. Why else would Pete have hit Sam, and why else would Jack be the one to bring her in?"

"Of course!" Rising, Janet threw her arms around his neck, dropping a kiss on his cheek, laughing at the blush that filled his face. She knew that most people in the SGC didn't understand their relationship, but since she'd almost died on a mission earlier in the year, they had all become much closer to each other.

Daniel's eyes widened at the unexpected embrace, something he wasn't used to receiving from the whirlwind CMO. "Uh… Janet? What are you doing?"

Realizing that the doctor was uncomfortable, Janet released his neck with a sigh, offering, "Oh! I'm sorry Daniel…"

xxxx

Slipping into Sam's room, Jack sat beside the bed, holding her right hand and silently begging her to wake up. He felt the tears pricking at his eyes, but he really didn't care. If someone wanted to penalize him for loving the most amazing woman on Earth, let 'em.

Brushing the damp hair away from her bruised forehead, he whispered, "Hey Sam… Doc says you're going to be okay… just as soon as you wake up. You got to wake up baby… I know that asshole did this to you, but the police won't believe me until you tell them." Giving a sardonic laugh, Jack thought of the various torture methods he'd come up with in the last few hours and offered, "I'm about to give the NID his picture and tell them he's an alien, just to see what would happen... C'mon Sam… you gotta wake up now… Please baby, you have to wake up… I can't find you, to loose you now."

Freezing as her head began to move slightly on the pillow, Jack found himself holding his breath as she blinked a few times before her eyes fell closed again. Leaning closer, he couldn't keep the hope from his voice as he begged, "Hey blue eyes… c'mon… open them again…"

Struggling with the action, Sam managed to open them for several long seconds before the long lashes drifted down again. Trying to open her mouth, she became frustrated when nothing came out and seeing this, Jack encouraged, "That's it… talk to me Sam… Come on…"

Fighting through the layers that seemed to encase her head, Sam forced her eyes open again, her fear evaporating as she saw his concerned smile hovering above her. Licking her lips, she whispered, "Jack…"

The smile grew as his hand brushed over her head, and he replied, "Hey beautiful… how you feeling?"

_Stupid question, but so typically Jack..._ "Bad…"

"Kind of figured that…" His eyes closed briefly and she saw him swallow with difficulty before he added, "The Doc says you're going to be ok… Sam… what happened?"

The tears filled her eyes with no warning, trickling out the sides to trail down into her hair. Remorse filled his face as he comforted, "Shhhh don't cry..." Cursing himself for what needed to be done, he prompted, "I need to know baby… I can't fix it if you don't tell me."

"I… I can't… it's too hard…"

"You have to tell me baby. You know what will happen if you keep this bottled inside you."

Sam forced herself to focus on what happened, images of Pete hitting her popping into her mind and causing her to cringe as she began to cry harder. Shaking her head from side to side and wincing at the pain, she begged, "Please, Jack… leave me alone…"

Jack felt his heart drop, knowing that nothing would drag the story out of the colonel before she was ready. Brushing his hand over her disheveled hair, he offered, "Ok, baby… whatever you want… but you'll have to talk to me. I know it's hard but you'll need to do it."

Sighing as she fixed her gaze on the far wall, apparently lost in the memories of her attack, Jack leaned forward to brush a kiss on her forehead, trying not to feel hurt when she unknowingly cringed. Slipping from the room, he silently made his way through the nearly empty corridors of the SGC, praying that the person he sought hadn't yet left for the day. Reaching his destination, he gave a swift knock and began to tap his foot as he waited for some kind of response.

"Come in!"

Jumping as the voice suddenly called out from inside, he opened the door and stepped inside, realizing he'd never been in the office before. _Strange how they stopped sending you to see shrinks once you stopped going offworld…_

Slowly pushing open the office door, Jack offered the petite woman a weak smile and quietly closed the door behind him. Even with her auburn hair in a tight bun and her serious eyes shining from behind her glasses, Dr. Anna Carrelli was nothing like he'd imagined the new base counselor would be. Her surprise at seeing him was obvious as she shifted nervously behind her desk and questioned, "Sir! What can I do for you?"

"At ease captain!" Running a tired hand over the back of his neck, the general forced himself to state, " I need you to check on Colonel Carter."

Frowning, Anna raised an eyebrow, the single word full of questions as she said, "Sir?"

Gritting his teeth to keep from yelling, Jack explained simply, "Colonel Carter was attacked by her… boyfriend." _God! He hated calling the asshole that, but he didn't exactly have the choice at the moment…_

Shock colored the doctor's voice, as she exclaimed, "Oh! Is she all right?"

"She's in the infirmary for now… She's in pretty bad shape, but Fraiser said she'd be ok physically." Pausing as he thought about Sam's near-breakdown in the infirmary, he added, "Mentally it's another thing."

"I see." God knew she'd seen enough of it in her residency. "You want me to determine how much psychological damage he did to her?"

"Exactly." Nodding emphatically, Jack offered one of his dazzling smiles in an effort to get his wish, asking, "Can you go right now?"

"Yes Sir, that will be no problem" Gathering a notepad and a tape recorder, Anna moved towards the door, stating, "I'll speak with Dr. Fraiser first… to get a better idea of Colonel Carter's injuries, and then I'll speak with the Colonel."

Relief poured through him, and offering his hand, Jack quietly said, "Thank you, captain… You don't know what this means to me."

Studying the general, Anna smiled, the effort lighting her face as she replied, "Actually… I think I do."

Jack's eyes widened at the doctor's words, his mouth opening and closing several times as he struggled with the immediate denial that filled his mind, the years of hiding his feelings for Sam an instinctive reaction. Swallowing past the lump in his throat as he began to speak, he froze as the klaxons suddenly sounded, relief filling him. Shrugging as he turned on his heel, he muttered, "Talk about being saved by the bell…"

Following the general with a laugh, Anna turned towards the infirmary, meeting up with Janet and Daniel as they return from the mess. Offering a professional smile, she called, "Ah, Doctor Fraiser! May I have a word with you?"

Turning in surprise, Janet raised an eyebrow, returning, "Of course… What can I do for you?"

Lowering her voice, Anna replied, "It's about Colonel Carter. General O'Neill has requested that I check on her, but I'd like to know her physical condition first."

"Well she's in pretty bad shape." Sadness filled the CMO's eyes as she gave the same run-down of injuries she'd given Jack earlier. "She has a concussion, a few broken ribs, a punctured lung, a sprained leg; there is a lot of bruising on her legs and a broken wrist. And she has a big bruise at the base of her spine, so she'll have trouble moving her legs and walking for a few days, but she'll walk, so try to comfort her about it if she panics. I'll be in the infirmary in a few minutes so if you need me, just call."

"I will." Moving towards the swinging doors to the medical wing, she added, "Thank you Doctor Fraiser." Nodding to Daniel, she offered, "Nice to see you in a non-medical capacity, Doctor Jackson."

Slipping into the isolation room Janet had moved Sam in to, Anna frowned at the desolate look on the patient's face as she stared at the opposite wall. Pausing at the foot of the bed, she quietly asked, "Colonel Carter?" No answer. No movement. This wasn't good. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Colonel Carter? I'm Doctor Anna Carrelli, the new counselor. General O'Neill asked me to speak with you."

"Jack?" When Sam finally reacts, Anna jumped in surprise and then quickly asked, "Yes… uh… May I call you Samantha?" As Sam nods, Anna prompted, "Samantha, tell me about your relation with Jack."

Sam's tone was as quiet as a sick child's as she replied, "Jack… he saved me…"

Anna sees the obvious right away and encourages, "Tell me how you feel about Jack."

Sam murmured something, but Anna couldn't hear her. Moving closer, she questioned, "What was that?"

"I love him. " A quiet peace filled Sam's trouble eyes as she repeated, "I love him."

_Ah… Definite progress! _"Does Jack ever hit you?"

Shock filled Sam's face at the question as she exclaimed, "NO! Jack saved me!"

Sitting cautiously on the edge of the bed, Anna placed her hand over the patients, probing, "Who hurt you, Samantha?"

The blue eyes closed down again as Sam whispered, "Pete…"

_The boyfriend. _Keeping her tone even, the doctor continued, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Tears began to creep from her eyes once again, and swiping angrily at the unaccustomed moisture, she whispered, "He was mad… he slapped me… I tried to escape but he was so strong… I just couldn't believe that he hit me, yelled at me… and the pain… God, there was so much pain everywhere… darkness…JACK! I want Jack!"

She starts to shake with emotion, and hearing her patient's cries; Janet ran into the room and quickly assessed her friends condition and gave her a sedative. As Sam began to calm down, finally drifting back off to sleep, Janet turned to Anna, demanding, "What the hell happened?"

"She's in shock about what happened with her boyfriend." Shaking her head, Anna sighed, explaining, "She's in a very fragile state of mind right now and pushing is only going to make it worse. I'll have to treat her when she's healed a bit."

Nodding, Janet agreed, "That's what I thought."

Biting her lower lip, Anna suddenly asked, "Doctor Fraiser, what exactly is the relationship between General O'Neill and Colonel Carter?"

"Oh!" Panic laced her tone as Janet quickly back-pedaled, replying, "I'm not sure I should talk to you about that. It's very…"

A sharp laugh escaped the psychiatrist as she offered, "Risky?"

"Yeah…" Shrugging, Janet glanced at her sleeping friend, adding, "Not to mention the Doctor-patient confidentiality and the fact that Sam is my best friend, so I can't betray her."

"I understand." _And she did… really, but that wasn't going to help her new patient._ Taking a deep breath, Anna added, "But if I want to treat Colonel Carter, I need to know what's going on between her and the General. I can assure you that nothing compromising will be in any report and I _can_ keep my mouth shut. I'm not here to cause any trouble for them or report anyone for an infraction of the fraternization regulations. I'm here to help Colonel Carter heal and if that means she needs to have a relationship with her CO; well, I'll do whatever I can to make it happen."

Janet studied the doctor for a few seconds, silently judging the other woman and deciding that she liked her. Turning on her heel, she moved towards her office, motioning for Anna to follow her and then offered her a seat. Linking her fingers together, Janet began,

"Since I've known Sam and General O'Neill, they've been very close to each other. It's never disturbed their work and they hide it very well. Once, they had to admit in front of me that they had feelings for each other, but even after that, they continued to behave like they were supposed to. But in the last few days, they've seemed even closer than before. I have no idea what happened to change things, but something is definitely going on between them and I suppose Pete found out and he started hitting Sam because of that."

"Oh!" A combination of shock and understanding filled Anna as she thought of the other woman's words, finally saying, "Now I understand the situation a bit better… Well, I have to work out what I've learned here, so if you'll excuse me, I'll get to it."

Following the other doctor from her office, Janet paused at the foot of her friends bed and watched her sleep, praying that once again, Jack O'Neill had the magic it took to bring the woman back from the edge of sanity.

A few hours later, Jack finally returned to Sam's room, feeling as though he'd been gone a year. Seeing that she's still asleep, he sits next to her bed and does what he does best… watches her. The feeling of someone staring at her pulled Sam from the drug-induced sleep, and slowly opening her eyes, she spots the general in his usual chair, his eyes glued to her face. Shifting slightly, she smiled and whispered, "Jack!"

Returning the smile, he questioned, "Hey, beautiful, how you feeling?"

Frowning as she tried to gauge the pain in her body, Sam settled for, "Groggy…"

"Trust me, that's completely normal when you're in Fraiser's infirmary… Needle-happy power monger…" An unusual seriousness filled his face as he suddenly asked, "Feel like telling me what happened?"

Nodding carefully she gasped, "He… he became crazy when I told him it was over between us… He said horrible things… That I belonged to him and that I'd played him for a fool… that I was a bitch… He said that he always knew I'd never give up on you, that I've always loved you… and then he started hitting me." A sob escaped her as she apologized, "I'm so sorry Jack... He caught me by surprise, I couldn't defend myself…"

_She was apologizing to him? For crying out loud!_ Pulling her carefully into his arms, he kissed an un-bruised portion of her forehead as she sobbed into his arms, whispering, "Oh baby… I'm so, so sorry. I should have been there for you." His voice grew hard as he vowed, "I'm going to kill him Sam. I promise you, he'll never hurt you, or any woman, ever again."

The sobs continued to be pulled from her as she cried, "It was awful Jack…"

Rocking her gently, Jack silently vowed to kill Pete no matter what it took, as he soothed, "I know baby… shhh… go back to sleep. Sleep now… He'll never hurt you again… never.

He wasn't sure how long he'd held her, when he felt her body begin to relax, her breathing even out as she murmured, "Jack?"

Brushing her hair away from her face, Jack murmured, "Shhhh…"

A smile crossed her face at the sound of his voice, the smile barely recognizable amid the bruising and swelling as she whispered, "Love you…"

Watching as she slipped into a healing sleep, Jack gently kissed her lips and replied, "Love you too."

Motioning for the nurse to come closer, he eased Sam to the bed and quietly gave the order for Daniel and Teal'c to be sent to him. His eyes never left her sleeping form as he waited for their friends, his mind continually turning over new ways to destroy the Denver detective. Glancing at the men when they arrived, he quickly explained to them what had happened and what needed to be done. It was quickly agreed that Daniel would remain in case Sam awakened again and with a silent nod, Teal'c slipped from the room to retrieve what would be needed, his eyes glimmering dangerously with the need for Jaffa revenge.

Dropping a last kiss on Sam's lips, Jack turned and left the room, meeting his friend in the hallway without a word. Stepping into the elevator as he and Teal'c left to find Pete, Jack's lips pulled back in a snarl as he hoped the man had his will made out.

Watching as O'Neill steered the vehicle down the mountain at an accelerated pace, careening around the curves as though they were straight road, Teal'c grabbed the door, stating, "We will not be able to avenge Colonel Carter if we do not make it to Pete Shanahan's residence O'Neill."

Glancing at his friend, Jack's lips pulled back over his teeth in an evil smile as he replied, "Did I ever tell you that I used to race stock cars when I was a teenager? No? Well, don't worry T... I've been driving these curves for eight years... They aren't going to be the end of me now."

"Indeed." Teal'c knew that his friend's emotions were at the boiling point, and he couldn't help but wonder what the man planned to do when he found the unlucky detective. On Chulak, he would have been within his rights to publicly execute the man for what he'd done to Colonel Carter. Unfortunately, they weren't on Chulak... More's the pity.

Relaxing as the hit the open road, heading for Denver, Teal'c could only hope that it did not take too long to find Pete Shanahan... Otherwise, there might not be anything left of Denver once O'Neill got through with it.

Putting on his best shit-eating grin, Jack straightened his dress coat and flashed his military ID at the sergeant behind the counter. Quickly explaining who he was and that he needed to advise Detective Pete Shanahan about an accident his girlfriend had been, he listened with a sinking heart as the older man informed him that Detective Shanahan hadn't reported for duty in the last two days. Thanking the man for his time, Jack stepped out into the afternoon sunshine and whipped out his cell phone.

"Griggman? O'Neill... Remember that favor you owe me… yeah, the big one. How'd you like to wipe it clean?" Hearing the other man's eager acceptance of the offer, Jack gave a dangerous smile and began, "I need all the information you can get me on one Peter Shanahan, a detective with the Denver police department... Yesterday Tom... I need it yesterday."

Flipping the phone off as he received the man's promise to call back in twenty minutes, Jack stalked to his truck where Teal'c sat waiting impatiently for him. Sliding into the large vehicle, he grinned, stating, "Shanahan might have thought he had high connections when his FBI buddy checked Sam out, but I can guarantee you that his connections don't even come close to scratching the bottom of mine."

"You have called in the marker then?" At the general's nod, Teal'c smiled, adding, "I often wondered if you would ever let the man forget what he owed you."

"Teal'c buddy, there wasn't a chance in hell of that." Pulling into the afternoon traffic, Jack laughed, adding, "When the Secretary of Defense owes you a favor, you _never _let him forget."

Two hours later, Jack and Teal'c stood before the dilapidated cabin in the mountains just outside Denver, disgust clearly written on their faces. Glancing at his friend, Jack snickered, "And he bragged about this place? God, it looks like something out of a horror film."

"I believe the movie was entitled, "Wrong Turn", O'Neill." Frowning in distaste, Teal'c added, "It appears that Shanahan's tastes are as bad as that movie."

"What have I told you about watching that crap T... It's going to rot your brain." Moving off around the side of the cabin, Jack peered into a dusty window, smiling as he spotted his quarry passed out on what had once been a sofa. Motioning for Teal'c to follow him, they ascertained that there was only the one window and door before moving back to the front of the dwelling.

With a solidly placed kick, Teal'c knocked the door from its hinges, causing the inebriated man to slide onto the floor in shock. Crossing his arms as the man stared blearily at him, Teal'c felt a moment of pleasure when he saw the fear in the man's eyes. Fear that grew as O'Neill stepped from behind him, a zat pointed at his head.

Tears of panic flooded Pete's eyes as he saw Sam's CO and teammate stalk into the cabin and he knew he was a dead man. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but when she'd told him it was over, he'd lost it. He'd known it was never going to work between them long before she ever did... How could he not, when every other word out of her mouth was General O'Neill? Placing his hands behind his head, he stated, "I surrender!"


	6. Thunder ch 6 Sweet Revenge

**Authors: Ariel Carter-O'Neill and Eridani Moon **

**Rating: Teen to Mature**

**Email: in bio**

**Season: Alternate Future**

**Eridani's Note: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews for chapter 5… They have made Ariel a happy camper again! Just a quick FYI for this chapter… The first two scenes were written entirely by me… Guess that would explain their slightly twisted nature… Any problems with those should be directed to me. Thanks again, and please, keep reviewing!**

**_Ariel's Note:_ Thanks for the reviews and special thanks to Froggy0319, lynnmichelle and IloveSG1. I just wanted to say that I'm not mad at anyone but me for the reviews about chapter 4. You were right and I was upset because I should have noticed the things you mentioned. Hope you'll like 6!**

**Thunder 6 **

**Sweet Revenge**

Jack's evil laughter filled the room as he stated, "Oh, we're not here to arrest you Shanahan... That would be way too easy a punishment for what you did to Sam. I thought about offering you as a host to the Goa'uld, but then I realized that no self-respecting snakehead would have you. So, on the ride to Denver and the time it took me to hunt you down, I decided to try some good old-fashioned human torture tricks." The evil smile grew as Jack added, "Did Sam ever tell you that I once spent four months in an Iraqi prison? No? Oh... Poor Pete, cause you have no idea what I learned in that place."

Holding his hands up to ward off the attack he knew was coming, Pete's eyes were filled with terror as he pleaded, "Please... it was an accident. I... I just lost it when she said it was over. I never meant to hurt her... You got to believe me General... I love Sam, more than my own life."

"What life?" Taking a menacing step towards the cowering man, Jack's finger itched to fire the zat, to just eliminate the man from the face of the Earth, but as satisfying as that would be, the man deserved to suffer for what he'd done to Sam. Backing the man up against the far wall, he pushed the Goa'uld weapon to within inches of Pete's face and stated, "You forfeited any right to a life when you dared to raise a hand to her Shanahan and now it's time to say your final goodbyes... I really hope whomever searches your apartment likes the suicide note we left."

"Sui... No!" Pete's eyes darted to either side of the tall man, searching fruitlessly for a way to escape. God, why hadn't he just accepted what had been evident to him for months and just walked away? No, he had to go and let his damn ego get in the way, not to mention letting his temper rule his head. Raising his eyes to meet the dangerous glint in O'Neill's eyes, he begged, "Please General, I promise never to contact her again... I'm sorry I hurt her... God, please..."

"There is no god here to help you Pete Shanahan." The general's tall, dark and dangerous looking companion spoke for the first time, his eyes as hard and dangerous as his leaders as he stepped forward, his hand wrapping around the detective's throat as he stated, "O'Neill's expertise may be in human torture, but I can assure you that I have methods at my disposal that your species has not yet even considered."

Choking as the hand tightened around his throat, lifting him from the floor and pinning him to the wall, Pete, clawed at the broad arms, gasping, "Please... God..."

"Wrong again Pete Shanahan, for I am far from a god." Watching with a raised eyebrow as the man's eyes rolled back in his head, Teal'c frowned, looking at the floor before asking, "Is it not customary for human's to be bathroom trained at his age O'Neill?"

xxxxxxx

The awkward position of his neck woke him, pain shooting down his back as his eyes struggled to open. Squinting up at the bright light above him, his first thought was that someone had been watching too many spy movies until the dark face loomed into view, a terrifying smile spread across the broad features. Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Pete declared, "Do whatever you want, I'm not afraid of you!" A deep chuckle filled the room as the man replied, "The current state of your pants would contradict that statement Pete Shanahan."

Suddenly becoming aware of the dampness that caused his jeans to stick to his legs, Pete felt the flush of embarrassment flood his face even as he wondered why the man persisted in calling him by his full name. Sam had once explained that the man was indeed an alien, but had worked hard to blend into the Earth culture. How anyone could blend into the crowd with his size, not to mention that gold tattoo on his forehead, was beyond him, but he wasn't really in a position to question it right now. Forcing himself to meet the eyes of his torturer to be, he questioned, "What are you going to do to me?"

"You couldn't even begin to comprehend the actual names of the methods I am going to use, but be assured that they will only inflict pain, not cause death." Smiling at the man's sigh of relief, Teal'c leaned closer to him, stating. "That ultimate pleasure will be O'Neill's."

Pete shook his head in denial, but it was useless. He lost count over the next few hours of how many times he'd begged and pleaded for the pain to end, for them to just kill him, only to be denied. His head was held immobile so that he couldn't even see exactly what they were doing, but he had no doubt that he would never find torture similar to it on this planet. Ignoring the tears that flowed freely down his face, he gasped as the pain suddenly stopped, the remnants of it still coursing through his body as O'Neill's face loomed above him.

Running his finger along the edge of the knife blade, Jack looked at the hundreds of slice marks, burns and other evidence of torture on the police officers body and smiled in satisfaction. Meeting the other man's eyes, he questioned, "Sam told you about the Goa'uld, about how evil they are?" When Pete gave a slight nod, he continued, "Did she happen to tell you that I was captured by one a few years ago and repeatedly tortured? No? Oh, what a shame."

Lifting the small vial of acid he'd snuck out of Sam's lab, Jack swirled it around, the memories of it's agonizing burn filling him as he explained, "You see, the Goa'uld have a device called a sarcophagus that can revive the dead. Ba'al... that was the system lord that captured me... Ba'al had this obsession with knives and acid." Indicating the liquid in his hand, Jack saw Pete's eyes widen as he realized what was about to happen and tried to give his head a negative shake. Laughing, Jack continued with his explanation. "I lost count of how many times he tortured me to death and revived me, but I know I was close to losing who I was, losing every ideal I'd ever believed in. I welcomed death, praying that each time would be the last, my only regret being that I had never told Sam what she meant to me.

"Sam and the rest of my team found a way to help free me and I was never able to repay her for that. Then, I saw her throwing her life away with you and I knew that I had to do something, say something, before I lost her forever… I never really expected her to choose me over you, but when she did, I felt like someone had handed me the universe on a platter. Then, you destroyed it when you raised your hand to her. You nearly killed her you son of a bitch and there is no way that I can allow you to live."

Removing the stopper from the vial, Jack tipped it towards Pete's chest, the dangerous fluid hovering just at the edge as he cautioned, "Try not to thrash around too much... It just makes the pain worse, trust me." Moving the vial lower, to hover over the man's groin, he heard the scream of denial, the pleading in Pete's voice as he slowly tipped the glass bottle, the acid flowing into the air...

Blinking against the sudden flash of white light, Jack whirled around; and finding both the bottle of acid, as well as his prisoner, missing, he looked at Teal'c and screamed, "Damn it Thor! I am entitled to my revenge!"

The Asgard's eyes narrowed as he replied, "That remains to be seen O'Neill." Pushing a button on his chair's console, he transported the weak and bleeding Pete into the room, a shield preventing him from escaping, or Jack from getting to him, as he soon found out. Ignoring the general's glare, he took in the prisoner's condition and demanded, "Why have you done this to Colonel Carter's significant other O'Neill? Is not such practice frowned upon on your planet?"

All of the long talks he'd had with the alien about his feelings towards his 2IC came back to him, and knowing the being would understand his actions, Jack knelt in front of him, softly stating, "Thor, he nearly killed Carter... Beat her so badly that it took Fraiser over two hours to stop all the bleeding and stitch and patch her together again... She chose me buddy, and Shenanigans couldn't handle it."

The Asgard's dark eyes took on a dangerous gleam similar to that which shone from both Jack and Teal'c's gazes and with a single push of the button, the man was engulfed in white light, his silent screams known only by his open mouth. Releasing the button, Thor smiled as Pete collapsed to the floor, stating, "I saw that Teal'c had participated in the torture and felt that you would not mind a little Asgard influence as well." Sighing heavily, Thor added, "I cannot allow you to kill him O'Neill. It will destroy your future and your relationship with Samantha Carter... The Asgard cannot afford for this to happen."

"Hey!" Whirling around as his prisoner disappeared in another flash of light, Jack demanded, "What did you do with him? Thor, you can't let him go, you have to bring him back!"

"Rest assured that he will never be seen on Earth again O'Neill." A smile eerily similar to Jack's filled the Supreme Commanders face as he said, "For once, a tale of alien abduction will be real... No matter that he will never get the chance to tell anyone."

"What are you going to do with him?" Getting into the spirit of things, even though he was still disappointed with not being able to kill the man, Jack suggested, "How about Halla? Didn't Sam say you just collapsed a sun there, creating a black hole?"

Throwing his favorite human a look that clearly advised him to try again, Thor sat back in his chair, replying, "I believe it is best that you are not made aware of Pete Shanahan's location. With the stargate at your disposal, I cannot trust you to _not _go looking for him... Yes, O'Neill, I unfortunately, know how your mind works... Now, for the reason that I have come to Earth again. You are doing well, no further side effects of the Ancients download? No? Good... Well, I shall return in a few months to see that all is still well."

Watching as Thor pushed yet another button on the console, Jack muttered, "I really want one of those!" Waiting until the light faded from around him, he turned to Teal'c, stating, "And here you were worried about having to hide his body... Damn, it sure is good to have the Asgard owe you a favor or two... or twenty."

"Indeed." Removing his cell phone from his pocket, Teal'c tapped in a number and raised the phone to his ear, listening briefly before a broad smile filled his face. Ending the call, he handed the phone to his friend and said, "Hit the redial and listen O'Neill."

Sighing, Jack did as requested, laughter filling the room as Thor's tinny voice came over the answering machine. "This is Supreme Commander Thor, of the Asgard Fleet. I regret to inform you that Detective Pete Shanahan is not available to take your call as he has been transported to a galaxy far, far away..."

xxxxx

A few hours later, Sam opened her eyes and immediately realized that Jack was missing. Rolling her head to the side, she saw Daniel sitting on a chair beside her bed, reading a book. Swallowing against the feeling of cotton in her mouth, she whispered, "Daniel?"

The slight sound pulled the archaeologists nose from his book and seeing that she was finally awake, offered her a bright smile. Leaning closer, Daniel questioned, "Heya, Sam! How you feeling?"

"It hurts…" Letting out a shuddering breath against the pain and tightness in her chest, she asked, "Where is Ja… General O'Neill?"

The blue eyes widened slightly, several long seconds ticking by before he replied, "Uh… somewhere with Teal'c…"

Forcing the lingering medication-induced cobwebs from her head, Sam's eyes narrowed as he demanded, "Doing what?"

"Uh… I'm not sure…" Rising, he moved towards the door, stating, "I'll go get Janet and she'll give you something for the pain."

Watching helplessly as he slipped from the room, Sam tried to stand, yelling, "Daniel!" Gasping as her head began to spin and the pain flooded her body, she lay back down, forcing a hopeful grin as Janet entered the room.

Smiling at her patient, Janet quickly checked her stats, happy with the improvements, as she stated, "Hey, Sam... Daniel just told me that you're having some pain?"

"Yeah… where is he?" Wincing as the doctor shone the penlight in her eyes, the unwilling patient added, "He told me something odd about the General and Teal'c."

"General O'Neill told me he had some important work to do." Filling a syringe, she moved towards the I.V. line, stating, "I'm going to give you a painkiller and sedative, you need some more rest."

Giving a negative shake of her head, Sam argued, "No Jan... I want to know where Jack and Teal'c are!"

"Calm down, you're just hurting yourself!" Waiting until the other woman had settled back in the bed, she explained, "The General and Teal'c are not here and I don't want you worrying about it."

Janet quickly injected the painkiller before Sam could protest and while she waited for the signs that it had begun to work, she slyly questioned, "Since when do you call the General by his first name?"

_Oh shit!_ Sam struggled against the effects of the medication, her words slightly slurred as she protested, "I didn't call him by his first name."

Janet smiled as she brushed her friends hair from her face, replying, "Oh yes you did and I want to know what's going on between you two."

Shaking her head a little too vigorously, Sam winced and stated, "Nothing… yet… well…we just… talked…"

"Sam!" Laughing, Janet dropped wearily into the bedside chair, accusing, "As your best friend, I think I deserve the entire story! Besides... It will help you recover faster."

For some reason that didn't sound exactly right, but Sam couldn't put her finger on it. Frowning, she muttered, "All right… Remember the big storm few days ago?"

"Sure." _How could she forget? Cassie had fussed for two hours because she wouldn't let her use the phone!_

"Well… I don't like storms very much and Jack found out about it." Sam's brow wrinkled in concentration as she fought off the effects of the drug, her eyes narrowed to thin slits as she continued, "So that night he called me to see if I was okay, but I thought it was Pete. When I made the mistake of mentioning him, we started talking and fighting and... I'm not sure of what happened after that… I just know that I woke up on my couch the next morning, very confused. When I called him the next night, we started fighting again and he came to my house. We talked about our feelings… and we... spent the night together…"

Janet's jaw dropped open as she stared at her friend, her eyes as round as plates as she struggled to process the damning information the drug-influenced woman had given her. She started to speak, to question what Sam meant, when the other woman realized how it sounded and cried,

"Nononononono NO!" Panic filled Sam as she thought about what she'd revealed and fighting against the weakness that filled her, she tried to sit up, yelling, "We didn't do anything! We just slept! And then I had the mission on P4X 977 and afterwards I went to Jack's for a pizza, beer and movie night… But then he told me that Pete had called and that I had to choose between him and Pete."

Understanding struck the doctor like lightening as she said, "So I guess you chose Jack."

A weak nod of the head preceded Sam's, "Yes."

"Ok let me finish the story for you." Settling back in the chair, Janet crossed her legs, wishing her back would stop screaming from the hours she'd spent on her feet as she proposed, "You choose Jack, then told Pete it was over and he became crazy and started hitting you?"

Sam's eyes were full of tears as she whispered, "Yes…"

Rising from her chair, Janet embraced the woman that had been her friend for the last eight years, soothing, "Oh, Sam, honey, I'm so sorry!"

Sam fought the tears, but was unable to prevent the sob that escaped her chest, startling the woman holding her. Her sobs became louder and louder until she was almost hysterical and rising from the bed, Janet injected her with a mild sedative that wouldn't cause a problem with the painkiller, and then held her again as she slowly started to calm down. Janet felt her own tears staining her cheeks as Sam became groggy, muttering about failing Jack. Feeling the woman's body tense, the doctor glanced up to find the general standing at the foot of the bed, his eyes glued to her patient. Rising silently, Janet gave him a subtle nod and left them to the fallout that was bound to happen.

Trying to sit up once again, Sam demanded, "Jack… what have you done to Pete?"

Disgust filled Jack's face over the fact that she was still concerned for the man after everything he'd done to her and pinching his mouth together, he stated flatly, "Nothing, Carter. _I _didn't do a bloody damn thing to him… At least nothing permanent."

Her blue eyes narrowed as her brain latched onto the qualifier in his sentence, her voice shrill as she demanded, "Then _who_?"

The pinched look faded from around his mouth as he gave a satisfied smile, replying, "I'm not at liberty to discuss that matter… How you feeling baby?"

Growling in frustration, she stated, "I'm okay, but I want you to answer my question!"

Crossing his arms, Jack decided it was a little too much fun to play with a drugged-out Carter's mind. "I did."

"Jack!" Punching the mattress beneath her, Sam's shrill tone caused the nurse to hurry over, but quickly reverse course when she saw the base commander standing with the leader of SG-1. _That _was definitely one shouting match she wanted no part of.

"Sam!" Yelling her name back with equal force, Jack leaned negligently against the foot rail as he waited for her to explode. He wasn't disappointed.

"_Who_ did _what_ to Pete?" Gasping as pain radiated through her chest, Sam felt the blood drain from her face as she gripped the sheet, crying, "OW! Ouch, ouch, ouch... Oh my God, that hurts!

"Hey…calm down…" Moving around the side of the bed with a speed that belied his age, Jack eased her back onto the pillows, ordering, "Here, lay back and take it easy."

Gritting her teeth as the pain began to ease, she ordered back, "Answer the damn question!"

Well, at least she's finally learned to give orders with some conviction! "He's gone, Carter… leave it at that."

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she pondered, "Gone? What do you mean gone?" Her eyes grew wide as she hissed, "Oh, God… You didn't kill him, did you?"

"No, I didn't kill him…" A regretful sigh escaped him before he added, "Tried awful damn hard though."

"Then where is he?" _God, why couldn't she think straight?_ _Oh, yeah... Janet had given her something..._

"I have absolutely no idea." _Well, he had a pretty good idea, but he wasn't going to speculate... Nope, no speculating for Jack O'Neill..._

"Jack…" The begging tone in her voice almost had him giving in as he answered, "Sam…"

Another sigh escaped her as she softly said, "I guess you're not going to tell me?"

A smug smile filled his face as he answered, "I can't tell you what I don't know."

A tear of frustration slipped from the corner of her eye as she whispered, "I think I'll just have to trust you on that one, won't I?"

"Yes." Dropping into the chair beside her bed, he lifted her hand, kissing the abused flesh. As he watched her continue to fight the effects of the medications Janet had injected her with, he couldn't help but wonder what Thor had done with Pete...

"What did Janet say about my condition?"

Her quiet words snapped him from his musings as he answered, "She said that you are recovering nicely and should be able to go home in a few days."

Another frown filled her face as she echoed, "Days?"

"Days Carter." Dropping another kiss on her hand, he added, "Be glad it isn't weeks Sam… You almost died!"

"Oh!" _She'd known it was bad, but that she'd almost died because of Pete..._

Seeing her eyes flood with tears, Jack shifted to the bed, pulling her into his arms and hugging her as tightly as he dared as he murmured, "I couldn't have lived if you'd died Sam… I'm so damn sorry I wasn't there for you."

Shaking her head against his chest, she argued, "You were in a way… You saved me…"

His hands tightened on her shoulders, causing her to wince, and filled with more guilt, he angrily stated, "But it shouldn't have happened at all, damn it!"

"I couldn't prevent his reaction." There had been no way to know he would become so violent, so determined to kill her. Closing her eyes at the memory of his fists striking her body, Sam gave a hiccupped sob and buried her face in his chest.

The sob nearly tore him apart, and watching helplessly as more tears crept down her face, he hissed, "I know that, but if I had let you break up with him on the phone, or come to your place that night… God, this is all my fault!"

She shook her head rapidly against his soaked shirt, saying, "Jack… it's _not _your fault!"

"You'll never convince me of that…" Pulling away from her, Jack began to rise, needing to get away from her, to think about what had happened. Running a hand through his hair, he mumbled, "I … I have some reports to do…"

Panic filled her at the thought of being alone again and reaching towards him, she pleaded, "Please, don't go!"

Turning back towards her, Jack saw her give a big yawn, as the tears glittered in her eyes. Pausing, he admitted defeat and moving back to her, wrapped his arms around her, explaining, "I think we both need some time Sam… You need to see the counselor and I… I need to give you space to deal with this."

"No!" _Damn it, how dense was the man?_ "I need you with me!"

"Sam… honey, you need to rest before Fraiser has my head for wearing you out…" Carefully wiping the tears from her face, he leaned down, gently kissing her lips as he whispered, "You're safe here baby, no one is ever going to hurt you like that again."

Grabbing his arm, she whispered, "I want you to stay with me! ...I need you to stay with me!"

Ok, this wasn't his Carter... Sitting on the bed, he held her hand, asking, "Sam… what's wrong?"

"I'm scared! I'm so scared!" The words were pulled from somewhere deep inside, startling them both. Her voice was small, distant like a child's, as she questioned, "Why did he hit me? He said he loved me, but he tried to kill me Jack... And I couldn't force myself to move, to defend myself as I'd been taught! Do you know what that is like Jack? To see the fists of death coming at you and be so completely surprised that you can't move? Why didn't I see what he was truly like? And God… What if I'd married him? I can't stop the questions in my mind! And the pain…"

Pulling her into his arms once more, he began to rock her, soothing her, "Oh baby… shhh… don't cry…" Forcing her to meet his gaze, he promised, "He is **_never_**going to hurt you again. He is someplace that you will never see him again, understood?"

Nodding, Sam whispered, "Yes… but it hurts so much…"

"I know… but that's what the counselor is for…talk to her…" Offering her a weak smile, he added, "Trust me, she's better than Mackenzie ever was…"

Nodding at the suggestion, Sam fought to stay awake, needing to hang onto the conscious world, but the drugs were too powerful, and the lure of sleep began to call to her. Gripping his shirt tightly, she demanded, "Never leave me…"

"I won't, I promise." His brown eyes clouded with regret as he promised, "I will _always _be here for you."

A yawn escaped her, as she murmured, "I love you…"

"Love you too Sam…" Kissing her forehead as he eased her back down onto the bed, knowing the position was only adding to the pain in her chest, he stated, "Go to sleep now… I'll be here when you wake up… I promise... Unless of course Daniel decides to break something again."

A sleepy smile turned her lips up as she drifted into sleep and settling into the chair, Jack performed the action he'd become most adept at during the last eight years... He watched her sleep.


	7. Thunder ch 7 Recovery

**Authors: Ariel Carter-O'Neill and Eridani Moon**

**Rating: Teen to Mature**

**Email: in bio**

**Season: alternate future**

**_Eridani's Note_: Ok… the major delay in the posting is MY fault. I fell behind in my editing… smacks hands bad Eri, bad! Thanks for all of the reviews, and please keep them coming!**

**_Ariel's Note:_ Sorry for the delay, I had major Internet problems and I had to push a little (Eri!) to have this one done. Hope you'll enjoy it.**

**Thunder 7 **

**Recovery **

Fifteen days later, after careful consideration of her condition and the colonel's argument that she was feeling a lot better, Janet finally allowed Sam to go home. Sam had spoken with the counsellor and appeared to be healing fast. And although she couldn't go offworld for a while, she was placed on light duty; which meant she could work in her lab as long as she didn't exhaust herself. Janet had removed the cast on her arm, but it was still in a sling, and she still had multi-colored bruises all over her body, as well as the bandages around her chest.

Jack had driven her home and helped her into the house, watching her careful for any sign of distress, and seeing her frown, he offered, "I… ahhh… I cleaned some of the mess up Carter… wasn't sure what you wanted to do with the others…" Pausing, he pointed to the wall of familiar pictures, adding, "Daniel bought some new picture frames for you, some new lamps… the rest of it's in a box in the kitchen."

Forcing a smile onto her face, Sam leaned heavily against the wall and replied, "Thanks, Jack, I really appreciate it."

Jack's eyes narrowed at her reaction and seeing that she was nervous, stepped closer, placing his hands on her shoulders as he stated, "I'm here, Sam… you can do this."

Nodding, she murmured, "I know… It's... it's just harder than I thought it would be."

"I understand." God, did he ever. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her gently, whispering, "You don't have to do this today you know… you can stay at my place until you're ready."

Sam shook her head where it rested against his chest, sighing as she stated, "No… it's okay… I guess… I have to do it."

Once again, understanding filled him and with a nod, he replied, "Okay…"

Releasing her, he watched as Sam walked slowly through her house, touching items here and there, noticing that others were missing and with another heavy sigh, she said, "Whoa! I didn't realize he had destroyed so many things."

Jack gritted his teeth to keep from cursing the man as he murmured, "Yeah… scary…"

Closing her eyes, Sam winced at the thought of what replacing all of the destroyed items would do to her credit card and muttered, "Well… I guess I'll have to buy new stuff."

The smile crept slowly onto Jack's face as he sauntered towards her; the dangerous glint in his eyes warning her was up to something. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he began, "Well… not necessarily…"

Sam's eyes narrowed in confusion as she said, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well… you know that ring I mentioned?" God, please remember the ring... remember the good parts...

"Yeah…" It was the one thought that had gotten her through the dark nights in the infirmary. The smile grew as he gently traced her cheekbone, asking, "What do you think about trying it on… oh, say… permanently?"

Sam's heart raced, her mind not daring to hope as she quietly replied, "Why don't you put it where it belongs? We'll see if it fits."

Jack's heart was pounding madly as he pulled the ring from his jacket... Damn it, he wasn't this scared facing down a damn battalion of Jaffa! Taking a deep breath, he asked, "You're sure about this Car… Sam?"

Nodding happily she answered, "Never been more sure in all my life."

Carefully sliding the ring onto her finger, he lifted his head, giving her a bright smile as he questioned, "So… how's it fit?"

Her face lit with a huge smile and she choked back her tears, whispering, "Perfect."

The weight of the elephant on his chest grew heavier as he inquired, "So… will you marry me?"

Sam was unable to stop the rush of joyful tears in her eyes as she nodded, throwing her arm around his neck and declaring, "YES! I will!"

The weight of the elephant disappeared, and pulling her into his embrace again, he kissed her gently, ever mindful of her bruises. Running his hands up and down her back, he swore, "I love you Sam… no matter what happens, never forget that."

She nodded happily, her heart filled with happiness as she replied, "I love you too! Always have."

"Good… that's good…" Giving a huge sigh of relief, he offered her a hopeful smile and asked, "So… are you moving in with me or am I moving in with you?" Please let it be my house, please let it be my house, please let it be my house!

Sam's consideration took less than five seconds as she looked around the room that would never be home again and began, "Well… your house is bigger." Nodding vigorously, Jack prompted, "Uh huh…" A secret smile crossed her lips and her blue eyes twinkled as she continued, "And maybe later we'll need space…"

His eyes suddenly narrowed, locking with hers, as he demanded, "Need space? What for?"

Giving an evil grin at his dense act, she murmured, "Well…"

Not daring to hope, he begged, "Sam… what does that grin mean?"

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "You know damn well what it means."

Shaking his head, needing to hear the words, Jack declared, "Sorry, you're going to have to explain it to me."

Laughing, Sam ran her hand over his chest, loving the shiver of pleasure that coursed through him as she suggested, "Think of what we are going to do when I'm completely healed..."

D'oh! Giving a low groan, Jack stepped closer to her, practically ordering, "Ummmm… refresh my memory."

Pulling his head down to meet hers, Sam kissed him deeply, allowing her right hand to explore his body, the room filled with their sighs of pleasure. Giving a loud groan, he mumbled around the kisses, "Mmmmm Sam… what are you doing? You know we can't…"

Lifting her head, she met his eyes and calmly stated, "Refreshing your memory."

Jack felt her tugging his head back down and felt his eyes widen as Daniel and Teal'c entered the house without knocking. Knowing that Sam can't see them, he grinned, calling, "Hey Daniel, Teal'c!"

Scowling at him, Sam groused, "Don't even try to pull that one Jack, they're both at the base."

A soft chuckle filled the air behind her as Daniel greeted, "Hey Sam… Jack… enjoying yourselves?"

"Indeed they were, Daniel Jackson." The Jaffa's voice was filled with humour as he realized he'd just won one of the major bets concerning the two officers.

Sam's eyes widened as well and she turned around to see her friends standing behind her. Giving a nervous laugh, she said, "Daniel, Teal'c! I thought you were at the base!"

"Obviously." Daniel's blue eyes twinkled with mischief as they darted between Jack and Sam, the questions lurking beneath the surface. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but was interrupted as Sam asked, "You came to bring me something?"

Teal'c's face brightened with a huge smile as he answered, "We have brought you a house warming present, Colonel Carter… much as you brought me one when I first moved to my apartment."

Sam's smile was genuine as she accepted the large box he handed her. Thanking whomever was listening for friends like these, she whispered, "Thanks Teal'c."

Nodding, the man stated, "I hope this will bring to mind pleasant memories."

She opened the box while the guys watched her, smiling as she pulled out a professionally framed photograph of she and Jack, taken on one of their missions... One that showed them, staring into each other's eyes as they laughed and shared a secret.

Tears flooded her eyes again as she whispered, "Oh... it's… I don't know what to say… Thanks guys!"

Remembering the day the picture had been taken, Jack smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he suggested, "I think it's going to look great sitting on our mantel, Sam."

Daniel's eyes grew wide as he demanded, "Our mantel, Jack? Something you guys want to share?"

Sam's tears turned into a giggle and a blush filled her face as she explained, "Er… hum… Jack just asked me to become his wife…."

Jack grabbed her hand slowly because of her injuries, and lifting it, he showed them her engagement ring. Catching the look their friends exchanged, he shrugged, turning red as he defended, "Hey… I may be a little slow, but I made up for it."

Crossing his arms, Daniel couldn't keep the smile from his face as he asked, "So you two are finally going to live happily ever after?"

Nodding, Jack grew serious, replying, "We'll try. But hey guys… you need to keep this quiet for now… Daniel, that means not telling Doc Fraiser yet."

"Why not?" Like he could ever keep a secret from that woman! She just threatened him with a needle...

Sighing, Jack threw up his hands in exasperation and retorted, "Because she'll squeal so loud the whole base will know in minutes."

"Oh I don't think she will, she already knows about you two." Well, at least she did after their little talk...

"WHAT?" Sam and Jack's demand rang out in unison, causing the archaeologist to jump backwards.

Shoving the glasses up on his nose, Daniel explained, "Yeah… when you were together in the room at the infirmary, she asked me what was going on between you two."

"And what did you tell her?" When the man didn't answer, Jack took a menacing step forward, glowering at his friend as he growled, "Daniel…"

Shrugging, the man had the decency to blush as he muttered defensively, "What can I say guys, she's got me in the palm of her hand."

Sam glanced at Jack, her eyebrow raised as she prompted, "Oh really?"

Nodding to Sam, Jack wrapped his arm around her waist and demanded, "What exactly does that mean, Dr Jackson?"

Flustered at the turn in the conversation, Daniel looked around, replying, "Er… nothing… You comin' Teal'c? I have some work to do at the base and I think we should leave those two love bird alone."

"Not so fast there, Daniel…" Snagging his friends arm, Jack shot him a curious look, his tone inquisitive as he continued, "What's going on with you and Fraiser?"

"I'm not sure yet…" But I sure wish someone would tell me... And please God; don't let her get a snake in her head!

Frowning, Jack asked, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" When Daniel didn't reply, he turned to Sam, demanding, "Carter, what's he talking about?"

Another giggle escaped the colonel as she explained, "Well, sir, remember when Janet almost died four months ago?"

"Yes, Carter… I remember when you…" Breaking off at the glare she threw him, he gave her a sheepish smile, as she stated, "Never mind that… what about when she almost died?"

Thinking back, he offered, "Well, Daniel helped her a lot during her recovery…"

"Yeah… and?" Motioning with her hands for him to continue, she smiled and nodded as he continued, "And since then they seems to be closer."

Glancing at his scowling friend, Jack laughed, and stated, "I see…" He didn't, but he was really sick of everyone giving him those disgusted looks. "So… Danny… what are you going to do about Doc?"

"I'm not sure yet…" Could someone please hand him the manual on relationships that don't involve the Goa'uld?

Poor guy didn't have a clue! "Right… ok… so no telling Fraiser until Sam and I work some things out on our end, ok?"

Nodding eagerly, more than happy to drop the subject, Daniel agreed, "Ok, ok… you coming Teal'c?"

"I believe I shall remain for a few more minutes Daniel Jackson…" Turning towards the shorter man, he inquired, "Will you wait for me in the vehicle?"

"Sure!" God, anything to get out of there! Raising his hand as he slipped out the front door, he called, "Bye Jack! Bye Sam!"

"Bye Daniel!"

"Bye Spacemonkey!" Laughing as he earned himself a glare for that one, Jack turned back to their remaining friend as the man stated, "Colonel Carter, I wish to assure myself that you are, indeed, well."

Smiling at the man that was like a brother to her, Sam replied, "Yes Teal'c, I'm well and I'm sure I can count on Jack if anything goes wrong." Placing her hand on his face, she murmured, "Thank you Teal'c, you have no idea what your friendship means to me."

"That is indeed good news." Placing his hand over hers, he added, "And I would say as much as your friendship means to me Samantha."

Seeing that she was startled by his use of her first name, he smiled and turned to Jack, watching the man's eyes widen as he declared, "O'Neill, in the absence of Jacob Carter, I am forced to inquire as to your intentions towards Colonel Carter." The dark eyes grew menacing, as he demanded, "Do you love her O'Neill? Do you swear, on the punishment of death, to protect, defend and provide for her, do you…"

Holding up his hands to ward of the verbal attack, Jack yelled, "Whoa… T, buddy… Sam's my soul… Need I say more?"

An unaccustomed huge grin filled the warriors face, as he softly replied, "No, O'Neill… that should suffice. Turning back to Sam, he said, "I shall take my leave Colonel Carter and I wish you a speedy recovery… O'Neill."

Jack and Sam watched as Teal'c left, cramming himself into the archaeologist's vehicle, and then patiently waited for Daniel's car to pull out. Turning to her with a broad smile, he wrapped his arms around her, his lips brushing hers as he questioned, "Now, where were we?"

Snuggling her head against his chest, she fought back her exhaustion, as she responded, "We were talking about which house we should move in to?"

Shaking his head, Jack lifted her head with his fingers, murmuring, "No… I think we were right… about… here…."

Capturing her lips with a deep, gentle kiss, he harshly whispered, "God, I love you!"

Her giggle floated through the room as she whispered in turn, "Ditto."

"No giggling Colonel!" Giving her a huge grin as more giggles erupted, he suggested, "You know Carter… I haven't seen your bedroom in years…"

"I know Jack…" Her sigh was heartfelt as she added, "And as much as I would like to show it to you we can't right now."

"Actually, Sam, I was thinking you need to rest…" Brushing at the dark circles under her eyes, he frowned at her paleness, offering, "Baby you look like you're about to pass out."

She yawned, "Yeah… maybe…"

Taking her hand, he led her into the bedroom, helping her to lie down and covering her with a blanket as he ordered, "Have a nap… get some rest and when you wake up, I'll have dinner ready… don't give me that look Carter! I can cook!"

Nodding sleepily, she replied, "Of course! You can cook a toast, boil water without burning it and your melted ice is to die for!"

An evil Jack O'Neill grin spread across his face as he offered, "How about I surprise you?"

Giving him a disbelieving smile, Sam nodded and drifted off to sleep as he murmured, "Sleep Sammie."

Watching for several moments as she sank into a deep, healing sleep, he then wandered into the living room, searching for her phone book. He finally located the book under a stack of scientific manuals, growling about the weight of the things as he lifted them off. Thumbing through the book, he found the number, dialled… "Giovanni's'." Smiling evilly as he rattled off the order, he waited for the total and the promised delivery time and then dropped into the arm chair with a satisfied smile… As long as he could keep Sam out of the kitchen, she'd never know their Italian dinner was take out.

xxxxx

Forty-five minutes later, Sam awoke to the delicious smell that was filling the house. Opening her eyes slowly, she found Jack watching her, a tender smile on his face. Smiling back, she murmured, "Hey!"

"Hey!" Brushing her sleep-tousled hair from her eyes, he questioned, "Did you sleep well?"

Her smile grew as she remembered the dream that she'd had, of their future and stretching cautiously, she replied, "Yeah… like a baby…"

"Good!" Rubbing his hands together, he helped her to sit up in the bed, asking, "Are you hungry? Dinner is ready whenever you are."

Inhaling appreciatively, Sam sighed and said, "Yeah I can smell it. What did you cook?"

A sexy grin filled his face as he threw her a wink, answering, "It's a surprise... come and I'll show you."

Placing his hands over her eyes, he slowly led her from the room, hoping she would like the meal he'd worked so hard on... After all, finding the phone book had been a nightmare!

Stopping in front of the table, he uncovered her eyes and watched the delight race across her features. Smiling as she slowly walked around the table, her hand drifting from the carefully placed dinner plates to the candles sitting in various places around the room, Sam lifted her hand to her chest and whispered, "Wow..."

Taking that as a sign of encouragement, Jack pulled out her chair and stated, "Dinner is served, Madame." Lifting the lids of the serving dishes with a flourish, he watched her eyes widen again as she gasped, "Holy Hannah... You cooked all that by yourself?"

Giving her a happy smirk, Jack nodded and replied, "Yes ma'am!"

Uh huh... and she had bridge to sell him... "Ok, so why are there no dishes?"

Crap, he'd forgotten to dirty up the kitchen! "Uh… because I've washed them all!"

Forget the bridge, she'd just fallen off the turnip truck in his mind... "Uh, uh! And why is the phone book open to the page with Giovanni's listing?"

D'oh! He had completely forgotten to put back the book! "I… uh… I…"

A satisfied smirk filled her face as she crossed his arms, knowing him too well and knowing she was right. "You ordered the meal... admit it!"

With a sigh, Jack nodded, replying, "Yes… are you mad at me?"

"Why should I be?" Using her hand to indicate the delicious smelling meal laid out before them, she added, "We have a wonderful meal, the atmosphere is very romantic… Sounds perfect to me, even if you didn't cook."

Clearing his throat in embarrassment, Jack smiled and questioned, "Hum… shall we then?"

Sitting across from each other, they both dug into the hearty Italian lasagne, their sighs of pleasure filling the room and the silence. They chatted between bites, about how their friends and family would take their engagement, how they would work things out at work and most of all about why it had taken them so long to admit their feelings. As Sam took the last bite of the wonderful dessert he'd ordered, Jack questioned, "Sam? What did you mean when you said that my house was bigger?"

Raising a curious eyebrow, Sam replied, "I thought you had understood that!"

Shaking his head, he offered her one of his 'Jack O'Neill... better explain it again' grins and suggested, "Maybe I need you to say it so I can be sure I understood exactly what you meant."

Blushing, Sam dropped her gaze to her empty plate, responding, "Well… er… I was thinking about… having kids…"

As the silence became deafening, Sam dared to raise her head, looking at him with the uncertainty shining in her eyes. She knew that Jack loved kids, but to have one of his own, after what happened with Charlie...

Unable to believe that she would doubt his desire to have children with her, Jack whispered, "I would be the happiest man in the universe to have kids with you Sam."

Sighing in relief, tears filled her eyes as she jumped from the chair, lunging into his arms. Wrapping her in his tight embrace, he kissed her gently as she muttered, "I'm sorry… I don't know why I am crying so much!"

His own past experiences coming back to him, Jack laughed, suggesting, "Shhh… it's the painkiller… blame the painkiller. It always works for me."

A watery smile filled her face as she nodded, replying, "Yeah… probably…"

Rubbing his hand up and down her back, he offered, "Look, why don't you go in the living room and rest while I clean up?"

Frustration flooded her at his words, and glaring at him, she declared, "I can clean up! I'm not an invalid!"

"Of course you're not, but you've been wounded and you had a lot of wild emotions lately." Setting her on her feet, Jack rose, giving her a push towards the living room as he stated, "So you go sit on the couch and choose a movie, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"But…" Wondering at her desire to stomp her foot, Sam found herself met with his shaking finger as he added, "Ah! No arguing! Don't make me order it!"

Her lower lip turned down in a pout, but she followed his 'silent' order and went into the living room and chose a movie she knew he would hate. Few minutes later, Jack joined her on the couch and as she curled up against him, she giggled as he growled, "Not Sleepless in Seattle! Damn it Carter, this is a chick flick!" Giggling, she snuggled into him, drifting off long before Tom Hanks made his mad flight to New York to find his son and the waiting Meg Ryan.

After the movie, Jack roused the groggy woman, who had slept so peacefully through the movie he'd endured... Okay, so he'd enjoyed it, but he'd never admit it, even under duress of torture by the Goa'uld! Lifting her, he carried her back into her bedroom, smiling as she curled into the comfort of the mattress with a sigh. Covering her with a quilt, he stretched out beside her, pulling her back into his arms and praying that each night for the rest of their lives was like this.

**Xxxxxxxxx **

**Please review!**

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